Descending Night
by Baryon Lancer
Summary: We pick up the story after the next to last episode of Season 4, Terra Prime. Archer and crew have a new assignment and a new region of space to explore, but the emotional fallout from Terra Prime continues to plague the ship's two Commanders, while the shadow of the Raptor's Wings descends over them all.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes:**

 **Obligatory copyright notice:** _I don't own these characters or any Star Trek related anything. I do not make any profit from Star Trek fan fiction._

 _I have to thank WaxingMoonDesign for their excellent schematics of the NX-01. If I describe a part of the ship know that I used them as a reference. Also have to thank the Vulcan Language Dictionary as an excellent reference for Vulcan words._

 _I originally started this Enterprise fan fiction as a writing exercise back in 2010 and let it sit on a USB till I recently rediscovered it. Like many of you, I actually enjoyed Enterprise. Season 3 was...well...it had some great moments. I think E² was one of the best episodes of the entire series and as you continue to read this work you'll probably guess I was a fan of what happened during Harbinger as well. I thought Season 4 was getting the show back on the right track, but unfortunately, the rot had already set in._

 _Then These Are the Voyages happened._

 _Well not in my story! We pick up the story right after Terra Prime. I probably have about 7 or 8 chapters already written._

 _Please, if you read it, please comment on it, good or bad. Critique is how we improve._

 _Thanks for taking a look and I hope you enjoy my story._

* * *

He had awakened her with his sudden movements. Once she was out of her own sleep induced confusion she could sense his troubled mind through their bond. She knew it was not a good idea to wake someone in a nightmare, but she loved him too much to let him feel the hurt and confusion that permeated their mental link.

Deanna Troi Riker gently placed her hand on Captain William T. Riker's chest and whispered simultaneously to his ear and mind "Wake up Will."

With that Captain Will Riker shot upright in bed, startling his still sleepy wife with his sudden movement. She sat up behind him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and chest while gently kissing his neck and shoulder.

"What is it Imzadi? What has troubled you so?" she asked in concern.

The USS Titan had been the Federation's main liaison with the Romulan Star Empire during the progression of the latest civil war. Will and the Titan had been at the forefront of the Federation's efforts to broker a resolution between the warring factions, but as usual, the Romulans were as implacable as ever, both sides. The frustration her Captain and husband felt was shared with him by the entire crew. Even the venerable and implacable Ambassador Spock was showing signs of fatigue.

 _"_ _No wonder Will was having nightmares."_

Finally awake and fully aware of his surroundings he brought his hand up to clasp her locked arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry Imzadi, I didn't mean to wake you," he said in a low voice.

"Not at all darling" she replied "tell me about what has you this upset, to have such nightmares. The Romulans?"

They had left the viewports of their quarters open when they had fallen asleep earlier. Now they both looked out at the beautiful world of Nelvanna III spinning below them. Also in view was Admiral Donatra's flagship, the green hulled Voldore; and beyond that the ivory hull of its Praetorian Guard sister ship, the D'era.

 _"_ _How ironic that we're orbiting a Neutral Zone world trying to stop a Romulan civil war where the more 'Federation friendly' side's flagship is named for an Admiral that fought Jon Archer during the Earth-Romulan War."_

He had thought this somewhat absentmindedly to himself but his beautiful and loving wife shared the thoughts with him.

 _"_ _So it is the Romulan situation that keeps you from sleeping well by my side."_

A ping of guilt hit him as he realized his mental bond with her also caused her to share some of his more intense nightmares. Feeling his distress over causing her distress she kissed his neck again and tightened her grip around him to reassure him that she did not mind it.

He replied, "perhaps our present situation provided the mental state needed for me to have nightmares, but this one seemed to have little to do with this mission."

They both laid back down and she presented her posterior towards him so that he could pull her into him with his strong arms.

"You should tell your ship's counselor all about it," she said with a seductive smile as he gently began exploring the crook of her elegant neck with his lips. She brushed a hand against his smooth cheek, enjoying her latest personal victory over him as much as the sensation of his once again hairless face against her skin.

Laying his face down in her long brown hair and breathing in her stimulating fragrance he relaxed and began his explanation.

"You remember back on the Enterprise-D when the Pegasus Issue came up?"

She nodded slowly as he stroked her hip and thigh with his free hand.

"Well it was back during that time in the dream, but everything was wrong. Not like it had really happened."

"I'm not surprised" she said "that too was a stressful time for you. It's not unusual that you would think of another trying time for you during this present situation."

As she said this to him she was rythmatically rubbing her backside into his lap. They both smiled at the sensation as he continued. "In fact Captain, the one bright spot of that whole incident was that you and the Enterprise's ship's counselor got to spend a lot of quality time together."

She could feel his facial muscles stretch his mouth into a smile behind her head.

"Well like I said" he continued "it was different than what really happened. See, in the dream, you told me to use the Holodeck to recreate an historic event in which someone I admired from the past faced a similar difficult decision. That way I could learn from and be inspired by their example to make the right choice about what I should do."

Deanna grinned in a satisfied manner "see even the Deanna in your imagination is wise!"

He laughed gently at her mock pride and continued

"Well, that's when things became strange. I decided to examine the events surrounding the founding of the Federation and the part that the NX-01 Enterprise played in them. You know about Jon Archer and the NX-01 Enterprise?" he asked rather absentmindedly.

She stopped her gentle and pleasant body movements to turn her head and stare at him with an indignant expression. "No Will, please tell me the history of the Federation! After all, it's not like Betazed hasn't been a Federation member for over one hundred years now. You know us poor Betazoids don't even have history books or anything like that!"

He pouted a bit and apologized "I'm sorry, I just didn't think you were that interested in Starfleet history."

She laid her head back down with a huff.

"Goodness Will, every school child in the Federation knows the story of the foundation and the Earth-Romulan War."

"I'm sorry dear" he said as she settled back into his embrace. He was delighted that she picked up right where they had just left off in response to his touch though.

"Well anyway, I chose the NX-01 in April of 2161, for some reason that eludes me, right before the foundation; but it wasn't right. Jon Archer was still the Captain, not an Admiral, and Trip Tucker was still the Chief Engineer. They were on their way to retire the NX-01 from service for some reason, and take Archer to the foundation ceremony on Earth. Then General Shran, who was not a general anymore but some sort of black marketer, asked Archer to help him find his kidnapped daughter. On the rescue mission Trip Tucker almost dies but then, while heading back towards Earth the pirates that had kidnapped Shran's daughter somehow catch the Enterprise in a warp three ship, board Enterprise and threaten to kill Archer if he won't take them to find Shran. Then Tucker convinced them that he would help them find Shran and led them into an engineering access closet where he overloaded an EPS conduit killing the pirates and himself in the process. Then everyone talked about how him sacrificing his life for Archer's helped save the Federation and somehow this 'story' convinced me to tell Jean-Luc about the Phased Cloaking Device aboard Pegasus and how Admiral Pressman was trying to recover it to cover-up Starfleet's violation of the Treaty of Algernon. Now is that not the strangest dream you've heard for some time?"

To his surprise, his wife said it was a pretty common dream type and most likely was a representation of his feelings of frustration and confusion over the distorted situation that their current mission represented.

"In fact, if it were my dream instead of yours, I would feel that Tucker's self-sacrifice so that Archer could achieve his life's work and for the good of the Federation, was an encouragement of Admiral Pressman's position. A junior officer sacrifices himself, Tucker's life, your career; so that his superior can fulfill his destiny, Archer the Federation, Pressman the Phased Cloaking Device."

Will pondered that "well I guess it's good I still made the right decision in my dream as in real life. Despite the crazy Holodeck fiction."

He could feel sadness well up in his Imzadi. "What's wrong love?"

She looked at him "poor Ambassador T'Pol, losing her Imzadi like that. What did she do? I assume she was in the dream too?"

Will nodded his affirmation "well that's another funny thing; they apparently had chosen to end their romance years before. When he died she was a little sad but not like she had lost her bonded mate."

Deanna was shocked and crinkled her nose in disgust "one of the greatest true-life love stories in history and it just….DIDN'T HAPPEN?"

Will was surprised how disturbed his wife had become at this notion.

She continued "when the Admiral died in real life T'Pol of Vulcan spent thirty years at the monastery on P'Jem trying to recover. She dedicated its rebuilding in his honor and reopened it as a center of cross-cultural spirituality and understanding. I went there as a child with my mother and met her, it was one of the greatest honors of my life. To this day she refuses to leave Vulcan for any other reason except to visit P'Jem on the anniversary of his death and the Starfleet Memorial Cemetery at the Academy on Earth on the anniversary of the death of their daughter to visit their graves. T'Pol of Vulcan, even today at three hundred and four years of age, would NEVER abandon her Imzadi."

Will blinked in surprise at his Imzadi as she brushed angry tears from her eyes. "I…didn't mean to upset you love. It's just a stupid nightmare."

She turned to him with concern "you don't think that I would ever abandon you like that do you?"

Will was shocked by the question "NO!...I know you wouldn't Imzadi! Why would you even think I thought that?"

She stared off at the planet spinning beyond their viewport

"I can tell you identified with Tucker, he was a childhood role model for you?"

Will nodded.

"Then perhaps this warped version of T'Pol and he was a representation of your concerns about us, about me?"

Will smiled in sympathetic amusement. His emotions really could affect her's when he wasn't careful, especially when a Betazoid woman was pregnant.

He spoke to allay her fears.

"My Imzadi, I trust you like no other person. It was me and not you who originally abandoned our relationship in pursuit of career objectives. If anyone should doubt anyone here it's you doubting me."

She smiled sheepishly back at him as her subsiding concern was replaced in their bond by desire.

"Well, that's true" she chided him "but the older, wiser, clean-shaven Will Riker has my complete trust as well."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and expressed her desires with her warm, moist lips.

"I'm sorry for getting emotional Will," she said between kisses. "I just really identify with the Ambassador. She was not only a childhood role model of mine but if not for her bravery at defying her own cultural traditions, to fall in love with a Human male; perhaps my own parents would not have felt safe enough to embrace their own love for one another."

Will smiled ironically at the notion of Lwaxana Troi not pursuing a relationship she desired. Deanna smirked at his thoughts.

"You know what I mean Will! Mother was not as bold when she was younger."

Will's grin increased "but I bet she was still quite bold then too!"

To show her he did indeed understand he took his beautiful half Human, half Betazoid wife into his full embrace. She wanted him and he wanted her as their mutual desire would soon lead to physical gratification. He heard her thoughts as they kissed.

 _"_ _Perhaps I should write Ambassador T'Pol a letter thanking her for the example she set? We should thank her for showing everyone how to follow their hearts."_

Will Riker could not have agreed with his Imzadi more.

* * *

The Captain asked, "what do you mean it just, disappeared?"

Fritz had been watching the intermittent sensor shadow for the better part of a day now, but since its initial detection, he had been unable to get more from it than the fact that it was there, somewhere, sometimes. Now his "ghost chasing" had the superstitious crew of the Earth Commerce Ship New Hope on edge. Most Boomers who qualified for a berth on a Warp four T-Class cargo carrier were top notch folks, but most also were veterans in the ECA or 'born-in-space' Boomers who had heard all the old stories about ghost ships and space monsters. Now, as far as they were concerned, Fritz had found a ghost of their own following them and they wanted nothing to do with it.

Fritz and the Captain also both wanted nothing to do with it, but they didn't have that luxury. Chief Sensors Officer Friedrich Elkhart had to keep track of this and his Captain, Victor Stevens, clearly thought that this ghost needed watching.

"I'm sorry Sir; it comes in and out of sensor range. Then it fluctuates here again, gone again within sensor range. There's no pattern to it."

Fritz couldn't help but feel frustration. He didn't believe in space "ghosts", but he did very much believe in cloaking technology. Naussican pirates or Orion Syndicate raiders were the bane of existence for all space fairing commerce vessels, but to his knowledge, they didn't have cloaking technology. According to the data from Starfleet sent out the year before it could be the Suliban, but they, like the Naussicans and Orion Syndicate, had yet to make it out as far as the Bassen Rift.

 _"_ _Well, I don't want this to be a first time for any of them coming out this far."_ Fritz thought to himself.

"Calloway" the Captain said to the helmsman "I want you to slowly increase our speed up to warp four over the next half hour."

"What are you thinking Vic?" Fritz asked him.

Rubbing his scruffy bread with his left hand, Stevens cut his eyes from the main viewer display toward his sensor officer.

"If nothing changes when we increase speed then we know it's a sensor shadow and I'll have you tear the sensors apart to find out the problem. If something does change I want to be moving as fast as possible toward the nearest inhabited world."

"So you think it's a cloaked ship?" Calloway asked over her shoulder.

"I hope it's a sensor ghost and that Fritz has a long week ahead of him" he replied as his sensor chief cringed at the thought of tearing apart the sensor network piece by piece.

"But, if it's not and it is a cloaked vessel, I hope it is just a raider or pirate."

That caught Fritz and Calloway both off guard. The Captain smiled indulgently back at their concerned expressions.

"Pirates only want your cargo" he explained, "ECA Central has been warning Bassen Rift Run ships that things along the spinward side of the Rift might be getting warm soon, a little too warm."

That proclamation seemed to confuse Calloway so Fritz gently explained it to her "The Romulans".

"Oh" she replied, then she replied again with an even more pronounced "OH!" as the news hit her mind with full force.

"And that's why…" the Captain was interrupted by the indicator alarm on Fritz's station.

"What now?" Stevens asked him.

Shock spread across Fritz's features before he could explain the reason for it. Three more blips had joined the first and they were all now on approach vectors.

The Captain had worked with Fritz long enough to not need an explanation as to why his subordinate began issuing orders without permission.

"POLARIZING HULL PLATING! ISSUING DISTRESS BECON AND FIRING OFF DATA BURST!"

The Captain slammed his fist down on the ship wide comm channel.

"ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR…."

Fritz, Calloway and their Captain were the only souls aboard the ECS New Hope who had the privilege to know how they died. Four ivory skinned and long winged warships, with birds of prey painted against the dorsal and ventral sides of their hulls, had just seconds before slide out of the shadows their cloaking devices placed around them. All four Romulan Birds of Prey released simultaneous bursts of concentrated disruptor fire against the tug portion of the New Hope. The forward compartments erupted in an explosion as the antimatter pods were breached. If anyone had survived it was because they had been in the cargo pods toward the rear, now tumbling away from the source of the explosive displacement that pushed them away in different, random vectors. Two of the dead craft now moved away and disappeared behind the shimmer of their cloaks as the other two banked back to finish the leftovers. After their disruptors had breached each pod in turn they too shimmered away back into the darkness of space. All that was left in their ion wakes were the stars and debris that had once been home and livelihood to thirty-eight living souls.

* * *

Captain's Log: March 4th, 2155

 _Enterprise has spent the last month travelling in an area of space around a spatial distortion region known as the Bassen Rift. After the events of the past two years, it's refreshing to get back to exploration and first contact missions. This region of space lies toward the galactic coreward direction of the former Delphic Expanse and the civilized space faring worlds in the area are not exactly strangers to Humans. Since the introduction of warp four capable cargo vessels ten years ago, virtually all of them have been used exclusively on the trade route known as the Bassen Rift Run. The Earth Commerce Authority has lead the way in introducing Humanity to this particular neighborhood of stars, but now that Earth has a warp five capable Starfleet vessel, and it finally has some "free time" on its hands, so to speak, it is time for Earth to finally pay an official visit to the region. There have also been several fascinating spatial phenomenon related to the Rift itself to learn more about as well. The crew has responded well, in general, to returning to the Enterprise's original mission profile, and I am looking forward to several more successful, if belated, "official" first contacts over the next two months before returning to Earth for much needed R &R and a major overhaul and refit for the Enterprise._

* * *

Captain's Personal Log:

 _Despite the overall improved mood of the crew and admittedly their Captain too, I do have several misgivings about the "first contact" portions of this mission. In assigning me this mission Admiral M'benga made it clear that it was important to solidify the relationships began by the ECA with CONCRETE trade treaties and even the establishment of official embassies. The odd thing about the situation is that Starfleet and EarthGov hadn't felt the need to do so before now. The ECA has been doing fine on their own this far out from home. There's also the fact that outside of Enterprise, Columbia and the soon to be commissioned Challenger, such embassies would be virtually dependent on the ECA for any support they required this far out from Earth territory. The only reason for Enterprise's belated official first contact missions to the Bassen Rift would be to make sure that they were on Earth's side should something "bad" occur. Considering the events that happened last year in the nearby former Delphic Expanse, that's a prudent consideration. Yet the sudden urgency for such a mission disturbs me greatly. Starfleet is pushing hard to turn these loose trade agreements into official alliances. The question in my mind is, why the rush? My friends in Starfleet Intelligence claim to know nothing, but I can tell they are holding back on me. The Orions and Klingons are a too little distant from the Rift, so there is only one other possibility that comes to mind, and I don't like that thought one bit._

 _I also have major concerns about two members of my crew who, unfortunately, are not nearly as well adjusted in our new mission as the rest. They have no reason to be, considering the tough time they in particular have had this last year or two. Their latest tragedy might have been one too many, for both of them. I just wish I knew how to help them with their grief._

* * *

The door chime in Jon Archer's quarters sounded. He rolled from the bed where he was watching the latest downloaded Water Polo match between Stanford and Oregon, for the third time. After pushing the hatchway open button he was surprised to see a visitor who, despite having been a crew member since commissioning, and someone he was quite familiar with, had never graced his hatchway before now. Lieutenant Anna Hess, Assistant Chief Engineer, stood in the corridor. Despite the smears on her brand new uniform, she was as beautiful as ever. Jon realized, not for the first time, that despite himself, he was once again finding it increasingly hard not to notice the female crewmembers.

 _"_ _An idol mind does tend to wander"_ he thought to himself.

As he was the senior officer for everyone on the ship, that realization disturbed him on many levels. He momentarily allowed himself to drop his eyes down her graceful neck. Quickly returning his focus to her piercingly dark eyes. He instantly realized from her facial expression that she had come with a problem, one that seemed to concern her greatly.

"A pleasant surprise to see you Lieutenant, what can I do for you?"

She looked down at the deck and gently bit her lower lip, then looked toward the far bulkhead momentarily, trying to find the right words she wished to say.

She was obviously nervous. He sympathetically felt the need to help ease her tension.

"Please Lieutenant, sit down; you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

She sighed gently as she sat down at the desk chair.

Porthos came to her leg for attention and she stroked him behind the ears for a second before responding.

"In a way Sir, I do."

Jon already had a pretty good idea what her problem was related too; most of the crew had tried to look the other way for the entire month, but personal problems on a small ship rarely go unnoticed for long.

"Sir.…. we….. I mean, the engineering crew… we have all the respect in the world for Commander Tucker. We …we respect and care about him very much. We'd follow him anywhere, and I personally would like to assure you that I don't come here, to talk about this…issue….lightly."

Jon suddenly felt guilty. He felt responsible for Trip's problem, having let it go for so long without comment. He also felt guilty for _her_ too. After all, Trip was hiding in Engineering where few outside of "his" people could see him; but she sat just two meters from him on a daily basis. She hid it better, being a Vulcan and all, but no one on the Bridge who had worked with and struggled beside Commander T'Pol for the last four and a half years could be confused about the great difficulty she and Trip where both going through. No parent, no matter the circumstances surrounding becoming parents, should ever have to suffer the death of their child.

Jon also felt guilty that his inaction had forced Trip's subordinate to have to come to him and remind him of his duty as the Commanders' commanding officer and mutual friend. Jon had put her in the position of feeling like she was betraying a man she obviously respected greatly. He felt a wave of regret come over him then. He finally began accepting the fact that they weren't going to fix this themselves and that he had to fix this problem for them or it would only get worse.

"I assume Lieutenant that you are referring to the Commander's recent odd behavior?"

"Sir…If the Commander has eaten, or slept in the past three days I would be very surprised. I actually have little proof that he has done either in the last two weeks except that he's still alive. Sir, these new uniforms aside, he clearly has lost a considerable amount of weight. We.….the engineering crew I mean…..we understand he's going through a lot of pain. Most of us have been with Enterprise since the beginning. He…..went through a rough patch in the Expanse, his sister and all, but this seems to be even worse. Sir, he's not only driving himself harder than usual, he's pushing the crew hard too and considering our current mission isn't of an urgent nature, there is no need to be pushing that hard. Sir.….like I said, I didn't bring this to you, directly, without considerable consideration of what I was about to say and its consequences for my career."

Jon could read through the lines of what she was trying to say without her actually trying to say it. As Executive Officer T'Pol had the normal duty to handle everyday personnel issues aboard ship, but when the personnel issue involved her, the duty to rectify it fell to the Captain. Clearly, Hess didn't think T'Pol was up to handling this particular personnel issue. If he had any doubt left of it, she dispelled that quickly enough with her next words.

"Sir, may I speak frankly?"

Her lips tightening and her eyes narrowing as she contemplated what to say next and his potential reactions to that. Jon had to agree to her request, anything that could make the normally jovial Lieutenant's face contort in that manner could not be kept from the light of day.

"Of course Lieutenant."

"Sir….under normal circumstances I would have taken this to the XO first, but to be honest I think she's part of the problem…Sir."

Her frustration was simmering just below the surface now. She and Trip had worked close, been close for several years. Trip had brought her aboard Enterprise with him from the NX Project staff and had her promoted to Lieutenant in the process. It's not surprising that she would develop an admiration for Trip that might transcend the work environment.

T'Pol and Trip's…off-duty association….was the worst kept secret on Enterprise. It didn't surprise Jon one bit that the "other" woman in Trip's daily life, besides his engine of course, might be a bit resentful of his personal time preference for the XO's company.

Jon sighed heavily.

"I understand why you would think that Lieutenant, but…."

To his surprise, the junior officer interrupted him.

"I'm afraid, if you'll excuse me for interrupting Sir, that I do understand. She, the XO I mean, well quite frankly Sir her….interactions….with the Commander aren't what they should be, Sir."

"What exactly do you mean Lieutenant?" Jon asked with curiosity, wondering exactly to what extent Trip's subordinate knew about her superiors' personal relationship with each other.

"I'm loath to go further into the topic Sir, as it clearly isn't any of my business; but Trip, …..I mean, the Commander….needs her….her support in this…difficult time; and clearly she has NO interest in providing that support."

Jon sympathized with the Lieutenant, greatly. He had no doubt in his mind now that the Lieutenant once harbored the hope of having more than a working relationship with her superior officer. Now, not knowing Commander T'Pol as well as the members of the Bridge crew, she watched as a woman that she clearly felt didn't deserve the amorous attentions of the Chief Engineer, apparently to her, was treating him rather poorly, at least by Human standards. She was both resentful and concerned simultaneously, a hard emotional combination to deal with.

"Lieutenant, I do understand your concerns and I appreciate you bringing this issue to my attention. It's a problem that I have ignored too long and I want to apologize to you."

The confusion on her face would have been, under less serious circumstances, very amusing.

"Sir?"

"I shouldn't have put the Commander's subordinate in the position to have to remind me about my responsibility to my crew, or to him directly as my subordinate."

The alarm across her face was clear.

"Sir, I would never…"

"Relax Lieutenant, I appreciate it. I should have handled this myself, but I had hoped they would have solved this on their own by now."

Hess began to visibly relax.

"Sir, I don't want you to think that I don't respect the XO, she's one of the most consistent and conscientious officers I've ever served under. She's proven to the whole crew many times over that our assumptions about Vulcans were often off base. Perhaps she's just…..too close to this one."

Jon smiled at her wording. What she had just said about T'Pol and Vulcans in general were exactly the very reason why Starfleet was a positive force for good in Humanity's journey to the stars.

"T'Pol is Vulcan Lieutenant, she handles grief differently then we Humans do. I'm sure she thinks that she is doing what's best for Trip, in her unique Vulcan way."

The Lieutenant seemed to accept that concept, but with what appeared to Jon to be a healthy dose of skepticism.

"I'm sure you're right Sir."

She stood to go, having delivered the difficult message to her Commanding Officer.

"If it's possible Sir, I would appreciate it if the Commander didn't know I was the one that brought this to your attention. What he thinks of me is….important to me Sir."

Jon gently grasped her shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Don't worry about that Lieutenant. I'll take it from here. Rest assured that I will handle this, discretely; and I really do appreciate you bringing this to me. I'm sure if we were going to tell Trip, he would be grateful too…..eventually."

She returned his smile. She was really beautiful, through all the various engineering related stains and smears on her uniform, and not only on the outside. Trip was a lucky man to have friends like Anna Hess. As she left the room it was as if the weight of the world no longer held her down. Jon knew why, she had handed that weight to him to heft now. It had always really been his burden to bear, and he had no intention of carrying it any longer then he had too, despite the difficulty placing that burden down would bring with it.

* * *

C Deck was the home of several physical science labs on Enterprise. The one that Commander T'Pol now occupied had the added benefit of being on a hallway that wrapped around one of the ship's two cargo transfer shafts. It was one of two labs that were at the end of that hallway at the end of yet another hallway. It was sufficiently secluded enough for her needs. No one else would use the lab till day shift. She could be alone here without concern of being disturbed or being discovered in an undignified condition should her ever increasingly fragile mental control fail her once again.

It had been fourteen days since she had last successfully meditated. The flickering light of her meditation candle only served to remind her of her failure to concentrate, to move past the pain that threatened daily to overwhelm her. The logical being within her knew that wasn't healthy and may need to have this condition addressed by Phlox, sooner than later. The private side of her rebuffed that thought immediately.

Then there was the other problem. The burning sensation welling up from within that threatened to meet the despair she felt halfway, at a place she feared would be her final breaking point.

She is Vulcan. Grief and Lust, like all emotions, are to be suppressed, conquered and controlled. She would move past this, like a Vulcan should.

Yet even reflecting on Surak's Litany of Loss from the newly rediscovered Kir'Shara had brought no solace to the tempest that raged within her. Guilt, shame, grief, loneliness, sadness, love, loss; all threatened her previously delicate balance of control. She had never been as strong as other Vulcan's in dealing with her emotions. Panar Syndrome and Trellium-D addiction had only compounded an existing condition. She, like her father before her, had always been…. emotional.

 _"_ _Sa-mekh."_

The memories of her father, lost to her and her ko-mekh too soon.

Grief! Again! And the dreaded Loss!

She thought of these emotions the same as a Human might think of their mythological Satan. As demons that stalked her, unless she buried them under the seas of work she created for herself.

Sa-mekh too had struggled with these same demons that appeared behind closed eyelids. He was the one who taught her first how to visualize suppressing them.

 _"_ _Be the shaft of a great piston, pressing the emotions away from you as you stretch your Katra out from your mind, to engulf your doubts in pure logic."_

 _"_ _Tal-kam sa-mekh, how I need yours and ko-mekh's strength now to push away the dreads of emotions; she was so little and helpless, she needed me and I was even more helpless, and useless, more useless than an infant, my infant, my child!"_

She was being overwhelmed again; quickly she had to focus, QUICKLY!

 _"_ _I am the shaft of the piston; I shall push these emotions away from me!"_

The great effort yielded its reward finally after so long. She had entered a state of meditation, but not her usual white space of tranquility. She WAS the shaft of the great piston. As she turned she saw the long lost visage of her sa-mekh helping to push down the demon-like emotions below them.

 _"_ _My pi'yel, whom always shinned so bright at her sa-mekh whenever I would arrive home, have you forgotten the lessons my life should have taught you?"_

Her father's childhood nickname for her, Little Star, reminded her just how emotional they had been with each other, when her ko-mehk wasn't watching too closely, or when she willing let them have their "relaxed" time together.

 _"_ _The Universe has sent you the same strength it sent to me. It was T'Les that was MY strength, who held me upright in her willpower and logic. She was my solace from the storm of my own emotions. You have the same to help you my Little Star, if you would only recognize and accept the strength you could draw from that source."_

His words reminded her of those spoken to her by the older version of herself she had met in the Expanse. It also reminded her of who those words were spoken about.

She closed her eyes, knowing this could not be her father, just her mind losing its grip on reality, yet his words reverberated within her. The weight of the emotions pushing up from below her was increasing to unbearable levels. Mental tears streaked from her eyes as she pushed pointlessly with all her might against the coming collapse.

Then as sudden as they began their onslaught on her fragile control, her powerful emotions subsides. Her mind was now a sea of tranquil serenity. The memory of little Elizabeth's eyes came to her with grief AND joy, somehow they were at balance in her mind. She was at a loss to explain it all. It was most illogical.

 _"_ _Let me heft this burden for you from now on dar'lin"_ said the voice that always weakened her stoic resolve with a so-called "southern twang".

She opened the tear stained eyes of her mind. She was no longer the one holding the piston of emotions down. The great burden was as nothing to him as he smiled widely at her. She was transfixed by the blueness of his eyes and the calm she felt from his presence.

 _"_ _T'hy'la?"_

It was all she could say to him. He had something more to say to her though.

 _"_ _We can help each other sweetheart, but you have to trust me to be strong, for both of us, at times."_

Then the conflicted moment of brief serenity was gone. As she opened her real eyes onto the darkness of a very real physical sciences lab, where the only illumination was from the displays, consoles and her meditation candle. She realized that somehow she had obtained a brief respite from the emotions that had tried to tear her apart for the last few weeks since she and….her T'hy'la…. had laid their unexpected child into the burial ground near his parent's new home.

She could feel the real tears that she had hoped were only in her mind. She was grateful to have given such an unworthy display only to the empty room.

She felt the illogical need to reach out through the bond she shared with him. The one she logically suppressed as much as possible. She had to protect him from the wild emotions she could barely control herself. He was in pain as well, she would not add to that pain to help quell her own.

She dismissed her errant vision as the yearning of her subconscious mind for her bond mate. A desire that could only cause this man she was always concerned for more pain. How much pain and loss could one Human endure? His sister, his childhood home and now his child?

She would not add to his pain by sharing her own selfishly with him. No, she would ignore her greed for him and keep her emotional wall high, to protect her…T'hy'la…from more pain.

She sat down at the console with the intention to get back to her work, but as there had not been much work to begin with, she knew the exercise would not provide her with the distraction she would need. Slowly the seas of emotion that constantly surrounded her began to build in intensity once again.

As she braced for the returning storm in her mind she dwelt on her subconscious "father's" words and thinking of those blue eyes that she had tried to avoid for over a month now. She wished that she could stare into them constantly, losing herself forever in them. Her shoulders lowered slightly with fatigue. Even if she could finally allow herself to give in to her desires to be one with her bond mate in this time of grief for them both; the coming storm of the approaching Pon Farr would turn a relatively small emotional release into a full blown tempest of uncontrollable lust.

 _"_ _No"_ she resolved.

 _"_ _I must protect my T'hy'la…even if it is me I must protect him from."_

* * *

No matter how many times he looked in the mirror, Jon Archer still could not get used to the new Starfleet regulation service uniform.

Before they shipped out on the Bassen Rift assignment several containers came aboard on the last shipment of cargo from Jupiter Station. Inside were four new style uniforms for each crew member, in their size and current branch of service color. All the senior officers and bridge crew received an addition white dress uniform as well, for ceremonial occasions. The same cargo platform that brought those had taken all the old jumpsuits back aboard Jupiter Station.

" _The end of an era"_ he thought wistfully.

It was one of many compromises between Starfleet and Military Assault Command Operations following EarthGov's decision to merge the two services under the Starfleet banner.

Admittedly Starfleet got the better end of the deal. After all, Starfleet still officially existed.

The MACO's didn't leave autonomy completely empty handed and Starfleet, having the upper-hand, had been rather eager to satisfy their new members' mostly ceremonial requests, to help heal any hurt feelings as quickly as possible.

Saluting officers while on normal duty was no longer required, but all other MACO military decorum regulations were to be maintained. This fell in line with existing Starfleet regulations, though Starfleet had only lightly enforced such honors before now.

Former MACO officers and NCO's would retain their "army" style ranks until and after retirement; however, all new officers, NCO's and enlisted crew would be officially Starfleet personnel from the beginning and as such would receive "naval" ranks and titles from this point forward.

Finally, there was the issue of the new joint service uniform.

The MACO's had come into existence and originally formed from the ranks of the world's nation states' ground forces, where Starfleet can trace its "military" roots to the world's air forces and navies.

In exchange for trading in the old jumpsuits the former MACO's agreed to the new, more military, versions; and Starfleet Tactical, where most of the MACO's would be making their new home, would adopt the MACO's camouflage uniforms for tactical missions.

It wasn't that Jon didn't like the new uniforms. They fit just as well if not better than the old ones had, with the added benefit that you didn't have to remove the top to use the facilities. The female crewmembers had to appreciate that even more than their male counterparts.

It was just so….militant.

The switch to the almost black color of Navy Blue combined with the more prominent lines of the cut and reduction on pocket numbers, made it feel more "regimented". Starfleet tried to balance that martial look with increasing the branch of service color prominence. Cutting the same general path across the shoulders that they had on the old uniforms, except that it was connected between the back of the collar and the bottom of the trim colors, now the entire shoulder and top of the uniform back was in branch color material.

Combined with the addition of the UESPA logo patch on the right shoulder, service branch colored armpit to boot length stripe, and the metallic name plate and commendation ribbons that the MACO's insisted be included on the right and left chest respectively; Jon Archer felt he looked like a real life old school naval captain.

As if to add the finishing touch to the naval look, two solid yellow strips bracketing a broken version of the same in the middle, graced each lower sleeve of his jacket. It looked more like the rank of an old naval Lieutenant Commander than that of a Starship Captain, but he could live with it if he had to. At least his four silver pip bars of rank still graced his right chest, just now on a solid yellow background.

It really wasn't the uniform that was causing him consternation this evening anyway. It was the purpose for having to put it back on after an already long day that was really bothering him.

He turned toward his most honest critic, besides perhaps his First Officer.

"How do I look Porthos?"

Honest as ever, the beagle cocked its head to one side without even sitting up on the bed and merely gave an inquisitive whimper.

"You're really no help when it comes to fashion" he said in mock exasperation as he gently rubbed his little friend behind the ears.

He took one last look at himself in the mirror before striding purposefully out the hatchway and toward the Medical Bay.

Phlox had been in the Captain's quarters less than two hours before and had left a while beforehand to prepare for tonight's important "mission". He had been quite enthusiastic when he learned that Jon had finally decided that there was a serious issue that needed to be addressed immediately. He apparently had been rebuffed repeatedly by both subjects in question in his own attempts at solving the issue in a less invasive manner, but now that the Captain was on his side he had clearly began looking forward to finally solving this problem, once and for all.

His mood had quickly changed to apprehension and doubt as the Captain laid out the options for solving the problem.

Phlox had then revealed that he may have a solution that would negate the most negative possible outcomes; but that he could not and would not implement them without both party's mutual consent. He clearly had been very apprehensive about revealing this option and even more so about applying it. After telling Jon the details his Captain understood why the Doctor had his worries and doubts.

The Captain smiled as he walked toward his destination, remembering the look on his Chief Medical Officer's face when he outlined his plan to obtain their subjects' consent to treatment without revealing the exact nature of Dr. Phlox's "cure" until after it had been administered.

To say Phlox was skeptical about the fine ethical line of doctor/patient confidentiality he was being asked to walk, not to mention the reaction of the subjects when they fully comprehended this treatment's side-effects, would have been a monumental understatement. However, he had agreed with Jon that it had the best long term chances of success on all levels. Jon hoped he was right.

As he strode into the Medical Bay Phlox turned to look at him, still with a pensive expression on his face that seemed so out of place on the jovial Denobulan, but behind that expression was clearly a determination to succeed in this task. Two friends' lives and careers were on the line.

"Is everything ready Doctor?"

"Yes, Captain" Phlox returned as he held up a hypospray for Jon's examination.

"The treatment." Phlox said.

Jon nodded thoughtfully and said, "let's do this before we get cold feet."

* * *

She was briefly startled to hear the Captain's voice at zero one thirty five hours come over the comm channel to her private sanctuary deep in the science lab.

She tapped the comm link button on the console in front of her.

"Commander T'Pol here Captain."

She briefly asked herself what possibly could have gone wrong in mid-transit on this routine mission in a relatively well explored and constantly travelled region of space to have the Captain awake during his normal sleep cycle?

 _"_ _I should have been on the bridge and not whimpering like a small child in the dark" s_ he chided herself _._

This was one of the first thoughts to cross her racked and tortured mind. The next was the realization that she might have something truly important to focus her mind on now, to bring it some distraction.

["Commander, we have a crew member in serious medical condition that requires immediate attention. However, he may not be receptive to receiving treatment. If I am forced to order this crewman to take the treatment I will have to put it in his official service record and in the ship's log. As First Officer and thus head of ship's personnel issues, I will need you to witness."]

It was rare that both her eyebrows rose in unison at a revelation, but she had a despondent feeling she knew exactly who this crewman was.

Since returning to Enterprise for the Bassen Rift assignment, since returning from burying their Elizabeth, she and Trip had tried not to set eyes on each other except at the weekly Senior Staff Meetings. Even there she took great pains to avoid having to address him directly or to be anywhere near making physical contact. Her reasons for doing so were sound. The mental link they shared could transmit all her intense emotions onto her bond mate, who would already be dealing with his own intense grief. Physical contact only intensified the bond to an irresistible level. She would cause her T'hy'la more harm than good if she gave in to her own desire to share their grief.

There was also the fact that Vulcan females who lose a child tend to experience an especially intense Pon Farr several weeks after the initial grieving period. Having her bond mate in close proximity increased the likelihood of the Pon Farr occurring. With fifty days having expired since Elizabeth T'Mir's demise, and the fact that Trip was Human and not Vulcan; T'Pol embarked on the Bassen Rift mission in the certainty that the threat of Pon Farr had passed her. Its sudden arrival nearly four additional weeks into the mission had been a particularly unpleasant surprise.

Now was not the time. Unrequited Pon Farr for Vulcan females, unlike the males, rarely resulted in a fatality. Still, this one had all the indicators to be a particularly difficult Pon Farr, and being her first natural one, she had her doubts she could control it; but she had no other realistic choice but to try.

Now was indeed, not the appropriate time for it.

Why her T'hy'la had chosen to also withdraw from her presence remained a minor mystery, but one she found convenient towards her goal of protecting his fragile emotional state. Now doubt began to creepinto her original assumption that Trip was better off dealing with his grief alone as well.

She had to protect her T'hy'la from her wild grief and sorrow. He was already dealing with the full force of his own grief. To selfishly compound his emotions with her own would be too much to ask of a Vulcan male, much less a Human one.

Compounding the situation with the demands of the Pon Farr was unthinkable on a Human starship.

She admitted to herself that she was concerned to see how much weight he had lost at the last Staff Meeting. If it was her T'hy'la the Captain spoke of, and logic now dictated that it had to be him, she now had to intervene to protect him from himself. Perhaps THIS assignment would allow her to focus her attention on solving T'hy'la's semi-intentional sleep and sustenance deprivation. She had to be careful to maintain her physical and emotional distance from him so as not to harm him further or to trigger an uncontrollable emotional reaction on her part. It would be an extremely difficult task, but she had to assist her T'hy'la through this difficulty.

Having known about their bond for some time now, Trip had, to her reasoning, also decided to block the bond during this difficult time. Perhaps he felt that he would have unduly burdened her with his emotions?

A wave a loneliness, love and admiration for her young Human T'hy'la washed over her. She remembered what his likeness had said to her in meditation just moments before. She struggled to regain control and to respond to her Commanding Officer's request.

"I am on my way now Captain."

She checked her uniform and cleared the areas around her eyes with a gentle massage from her finger tips. Then she strode off to the nearest turbo lift for E Deck.

Her T'hy'la needed her.

* * *

As Commander T'Pol broke the comm link with him, Jon turned and faced Phlox with a crooked but subdued smile.

"One down."

The Doctor returned his smile with a reflexive yet equally subdued one of his own. "One to go."

He pressed the comm button on the bulkhead.

"Phlox to Engineering, is Commander Tucker still there? I require his assistance."

* * *

 _"_ _Thank God, something real to do, finally."_

Had things kept on this way, with nothing to do, nothing to take his mind off of his little…

 _"_ _Stay focused son, stick to the work."_

A thousand deaths for Paxton and all he sick Terra Primers would never have been enough to satisfy the need for vengeance Trip Tucker felt burning in the pit of his gut.

Poor Lizzy had been killed in a misinformed and ill-conceived preemptive strike. She, like all of the other seven million victims of the Xindi prototype weapon had been…collateral damage. That thought, those words sickened his empty stomach.

Elizabeth though, named for her slaughtered aunt, had been intentionally created to die! Those sick Fu….!

 _"_ _Get control of yourself son. You have a job to do!"_

When had the voice in his head started quoting and sounding like Preston Tucker?

He allowed himself to lean his forehead against the turbolift wall as the door closed behind him.

Had it really been three days since he last slept? Even then her tiny blue eyes haunted his nightmares.

 _"_ _I'm so sorry Little Star, if I were a better man perhaps I could have done something…more."_

He had no idea where he had come up with that nickname for her but it had seemed right on day one. He knew there was nothing he could have done to save her; she was doomed from the start. That didn't make it easier to deal with. Trip was an Engineer, he solved problems. Trip was also a Tucker, self-blame was second nature.

As his daddy always said to his momma after a fight, _"Well if it weren't my fault, how 'em I supposed to fix it?"_

The door slide open, it was a short ride from D to E Deck. He straightened up to leave the turbolift.

 _"_ _And of course she blames me, she has too. Why else would she treat me this way? Why else would she cut off the link between us when I need her most? I must be the representative of all that's bad in Humanity to her now. Just another weak Human…a weak man…a weak father."_

Then there it was.

He felt it in his mind like one would hear the drip of a leaky faucet. SHE was here, nearby, and without revealing anything else, she wanted him to know!

As he rounded the circular hallway that led from the rear turbolift to the entrance to sick bay the unique psychic radar he shared with her had turned on, just the tiniest amount; but enough for him to know that she was at his destination, and she was not alone.

He paused at the doors that led inside. He didn't know what was coming but it was causing her great apprehension. So great she could not block it from him, or she did not want to block it from him.

What really terrified him was that it wasn't whatever lay on the other side of that door that worried him so much. It was having to look at the woman he loved with every fiber of his being, and to see nothing but shame and disappointment in her beautiful eyes.

Then he was reminded that their link worked two ways and it was she that ran the show.

The alarm she felt at his thoughts was so great that he could taste her shock! Whatever was awaiting him on the other side of this door was sure to keep him awake for a little while longer.

He braced himself and walked in, toolkit in his hand. Trip Tucker was, after all, a problem solver, an Engineer. He would face this new issue head on, bulldozer style.


	2. Chapter 2

It was unusual for any Vulcan's face to show emotion, including shock; but that was the sudden look on the Commander's face. Then she turned toward the door a few seconds before an emaciated and drained looking Trip Tucker walked in, ramrod straight and acting like he had just woke up and had drank a gallon of coffee! He looked…horrible.

 _"_ _That Vulcan hearing is something else"_ Jon Archer thought to himself in admiration of T'Pol's apparent ability to hear through closed medical doors. Though it didn't explain her momentary emotional expression just seconds before the doors opened.

Trip ignored T'Pol's presence all together, shot the Doctor an intense look of betrayal that made Phlox turn away from the Engineer's gaze. Then he looked at his long-time friend and commanding officer with what amounted to the worst serious attempt at mock surprise in the history of intergalactic theater.

He soon added dialogue to match!

"Well, must be one hell-of-a broken life signs monitor to require the majority of the ship's senior staff to collect together in here at o-two hundred in the morning."

Jon Archer saw something then he never thought he would see in all his life. A Vulcan staring at her feet like a little Human girl who was afraid to look up in fear of being scolded by an authority figure.

 _"_ _Enough of this."_ he thought to himself.

"Commander, go sit on the bio-bed."

Trip Tucker leveled a look now at his commanding officer that would have indicated to most males of any species that he was issuing a direct challenge.

Archer was having none of it. "I said NOW, Commander!"

Everyone else in the room stared at their Captain's loud command with wide-eyes. Trip abruptly lowered his gaze and sullenly proceeded to the bio-bed. He laid his toolkit beside him as he sat on the side, and stared catatonically straight ahead. T'Pol only then appeared to feel "safe" enough to look at him, though not directly in the eyes.

The Doctor's frown stretched wider and wider with every pass of his scanner until he gently began to move his head from side to side.

"7.9 kilograms of mass, gone in a month!" Phlox spouted with determined intensity.

T'Pol's mouth and eyes widened slightly with the revelation of Trip's deteriorated physical state. It was the second time in one minute that she had acted very un-Vulcan like. Jon realized then that she was apparently suffering in a way that to Vulcans was worse than even what Trip was going through. Everyone knew Trip wasn't eating and sleeping regularly, but this much weight loss was unexpected. Her lack of complete emotional control at this news was also telling of her own condition.

"What do you want me to say Doc? I'm…..just not hungry."

The indignant facial expression and rapidly wobbling head movement that accompanied the doctor's response was worth a thousand words.

"Well of course not COMMANDER! You're suffering from acute depression!"

Trip cocked an eyebrow and a condescending smirk at that assessment.

"Ain't anything cute about it Doc."

The doctor was about to respond to Trip's sarcastic attempt at humor when Jon stepped in.

"The time for jokes is over Commander. Starfleet doesn't take kindly to its officers ignoring their health needs and jeopardizing crew safety in the process."

Trip Tucker shot up from the bio-bed like a bolt!

"Now Jon, you wait one god damn minute….!"

"Captain."

The sudden presence of the diminutive female between two very angry men had surprised and silenced them both.

"The Commander is clearly under a great deal of stress" She continued. "Perhaps the Doctor can give him some medication tonight to help him sleep. Then we can continue this conversation in the morning when everyone has had a chance to properly rest?"

"I won't have anything new to say tomorrow, Captain." Trip said, not to Jon but to the back of T'Pol's head.

"Well that's perfectly alright Commander" Archer replied. "As of now I am having the Doctor medically relieve you from duty. You will remain in sickbay under Phlox's supervision until such time that he feels you are fit to return to duty."

The look of abject defeat flowed across the hardened lines of the engineer's face.

"Jon, Captain…..please…all I have is my work. It's all I have to keep my mind off…. If you take that from me…"

T'Pol stepped in again. "Captain, perhaps there is another way to handle this that would not involve a permanent reprimand on the Commander's record. I am more than capable of directly supervising his condition with Phlox's advisement. Perhaps restarting the neuropressure sessions will also be beneficial to restoring…."

"What do you care?" Trip blurted with anger at her back.

She spun around to look her bond mate directly in the eyes for the first time in over a month.

"How can you ask me such a question? It is ridiculously illogical of you to think that I don't care about you…your health" she said to him, determination and confusion seething through despite her best, if feeble, efforts.

Neither the Doctor nor Jon had expected her to retort him in such a direct and almost emotional fashion. Apparently Trip hadn't either. He stammered to find the words.

"I…you…..you've…..ignored me since….the funeral. Cut me off when I needed you….r… help the most. Run off and hid in science labs while off duty and all in an effort to be as far away from ME as is possible on this ship!"

Her left eyebrow shot up her slight forehead with graceful ease.

"I?" she looked nervously from the corner of her eyes toward the other two people in the room.

"Ain't like Phlox don't know, having practically encouraged it from day one, and it appears Jon's worked it out for himself already too" he snipped at her.

Their relationship, whatever it was, was no surprise or great secret on Enterprise. Still, Vulcans just don't do this in public and most wouldn't in private.

"You are…angry with me?" She asked in a diminutive tone of voice, clearly concerned at the possible answer.

"Is, doing this to yourself your way of punishing me?"

Trip squinted back angrily at her.

"I'm not angry at you, I'm hurt though. You just…cut me off like a diseased limb."

T'pol seemed genuinely surprised by his words.

"I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you….Trip. I am trying to protect you."

Trip's eyes widened and he spread his hands out between demonstratively.

"Protect me from what?"

T'pol rarely was at a lack for a response but to Jon and Phlox's great surprise she began to stammer herself.

"From…..me….my…you are in so much…you, you just cannot afford to have to deal with both of our, difficulties, at the same time."

Seeing the utter confusion on both Jon and Trip's faces, and T'Pol's inability to explain it in humanly emotional terms; Phlox decided it was time to translate.

"Trip, you and T'Pol have a physic bond that allows you to share many things, including emotions. However, as I'm sure T'Pol can tell you, that is not all that's shared through the bond."

Sudden realization and regret shinned in T'Pol's eyes as she turned regretful eyes toward the Doctor.

"You believe that I have somehow transmitted my…physical difficulties….instead of just the mental ones?"

Jon turned to Phlox "Can you explain in simple terms that I might comprehend?"

Phlox looked with sympathy toward T'Pol as she slowly stepped toward the side of the medical bay, Trip's eyes locked on her back in growing concern as she moved away. Discussing such issues was taboo on Vulcan. Any other Vulcan would have left the room, but she knew that was not an option for her. She was clearly lost in the sudden realization that she could have, in fact, been hurting Trip while trying to protect him.

"The Vulcan Betrothal Bond is usually not strong enough to transmit more than basic feelings." Phlox began.

"However, Commander T'Pol has indicated that she and the Commander have an unusually strong betrothal bond. One strong enough that it would allow more through it. One that is almost as strong as the typical Vulcan Marriage Bond."

Having never taken his eyes off of her, Trip asked in the most pathetic voice possible with tears welling up in the corners of his own eyes "you and Koss had….have this marriage bond?"

"NO! T'h…Trip. Of course not. I would not be here if he and I had ever had the bond. Any of the bonds."

"Please Trip, I know you have and will have many questions" Phlox stated, "but if you'll let me finish, I believe I will answer many of them, while also allowing the Commander to maintain a certain….distance…from this difficult discussion."

Trip nodded in acknowledgement. T'Pol turned to face the other way again. She knew that her personal details were about to be revealed but they had to be to make T'hy'la and the Captain understand. Just one more difficulty to face on an already difficult morning, but T'hy'la must be made to understand.

"As you both know, a significant portion of Vulcan families have their children psychically bonded to a mate from another family they are associated with.. T'Pol and Koss's fathers had worked together and so T'Pol was bonded to Koss in the Betrothal Bond when they were both seven years old. It is not uncommon, as in T'Pol's case, for the bonded pair to have little or anything to do with one another until the time when they are to be married. This is usually when Vulcans also have the more intense and intimate Marriage Bond applied. However, in a few cases, Like T'Pol and Koss's, the betrothal bond does not take. That in and of itself means nothing and the Marriage Bond, being much stronger, is simply applied during the marriage ceremony like normal; unless a new betrothal bond is formed beforehand. THAT is the case we have here."

Trip looked perplexed. "So Koss and T'Pol's bond didn't take because…she already had one with me?"

Phlox smiled brightly, "Correct Commander! That was also the first time T'Pol realized she was in love with you."

T'Pol made no attempt to hide her shock at the Doctor's revelation. She did notice for the first time in many months that Trip was smiling and staring at her with…yes, she could feel it in the bond, it…calmed her. Her eyes soon returned to the Denobulan though with a harsh glare than made him whence.

"Excuse me Trip, what I meant to say was that was the first time Commander T'Pol realized that she wanted to be bonded with you."

From the unchanged expression on T'Pol's face that clearly was also not a revelation she wished to share, but she turned back around wordlessly.

Jon spoke up next "and how exactly did she determine that?"

She realized that Jon was leading the Doctor to another revelation that he already apparently knew about. When this…humiliation…was over with she and the Doctor would need to have a discussion on what exactly Denobulan medical ethics considered to be privileged patient information and what it didn't. She also realized now that the Doctor and the Captain had set this "trap" to catch both Trip and her. Clearly she was worse off than she believed if she allowed clumsy intrigues so transparent that a Vulcan child would recognize them instantly, to ensnare her with such ease. It forced her to ponder if perhaps she even WANTED to be ensnared. She felt she must return her attention to this increasingly distasteful conversation. Phlox and Jon had a plan and she would have to muster her strength and clarity to discern it before they achieved their objectives.

"Well, after the ceremony, the priest revealed to her and Koss in private that the other bond was there and that it was too strong to be broken at that time and that they should wait a few years before trying to do the marriage bond again. Then, when he was able to speak to her alone the priest revealed that betrothal bonds can only be broken when one of the pair involved wished it so, even on the subconscious level."

Jon nodded his understanding but as usual Trip needed more coaching.

"So Doc, what you're saying is…."

"This must stop…Now." T'Pol said in near frustration.

"Let us be as direct as possible so that less of mine and the Commander's private lives will not be further compromised."

The Doctor, in some obvious discomfort at having stepped on the toes of this proud Vulcan woman one too many times, lowered his head in embarrassment. She realized that he was trying to help her in his own way and decided that perhaps they did not need to have the doctor/patient conversation she had planned after all.

"Trip…I didn't mean to harm you. I thought that you wanted to be alone. That is how a Vulcan would deal with grief. That is how I had planned to as well. I underestimated the strength of our bond yet again and this time my physical reaction to grief was transmitted to you and exacerbated your own tendencies. In my admittedly pathetic attempt to protect you from my own erratic emotions I harmed you in an unexpected physical manner. I am truly regretful. You must understand that your protection from the harm I could cause you was my only thought."

She would not meet his eyes. Great….sorrow shown in her eyes as she gave voice to what she feared would be the only solution to this problem.

"Trip…when we get the opportunity, we should go to Vulcan. There, if it is your wish, a priest will be able to break our bond. It would be the logical thing for you to do."

Trip looked at the floor and tried to collect himself. "Is that what you want T'hy'la…I mean, T'Pol?"

She looked at him in amazement _'how did he know….'_

"It is what is best for you; I only wish what is best for you" She replied, her voice nearly breaking.

He sat up straight and looked her directly in the eyes.

"If the priest spoke the truth to you then only you could break our bond. I wouldn't wish to do so even if my life depended on it, hell, it very well MAY depend on it. This has been the worst two and a half months of my life, but partially because I thought you hated me, and that you didn't care about me."

She locked her eyes on his with concern radiating between them.

"That was most illogical of you. Surely you do not think that now?"

He smiled slightly "I don't, but I need to know how you truly…feel. I'd never do anything to hurt you either, like force you to stay in a…relationship, you didn't want."

The relief she felt was difficult to hide. Perhaps now WAS the time to embrace this lifelong challenge.

"Very well" she turned toward their two companions. Phlox gently tugged the Captain's arm to pull him back as he pushed the curtain around the Commanders. Through the limited privacy the lighting allowed in the Medical Bay they could see the silhouettes of the Commanders. T'Pol, almost timidly, raised her right hand and extended her two fingers outward. Trip, in obvious initial confusion, followed her example. Jon sent a questioning look to his Chief Medical Officer. Phlox sent Jon back the widest smile yet in reassurance, this was the moment they had waited for.

A few minutes later Trip pulled the curtain away. T'Pol sat on the opposite bed in what appeared to be a state of calm and thoughtful contemplation and….relief.

Trip sat wide-eyed and smiled like a school kid with an obvious crush at her. She briefly glanced up to meet his gaze with what Jon's mother would have called "bedroom eyes".

She then turned her attention back towards them.

"Captain, we agree to cooperate fully in any treatment plan the Doctor will prescribe. We will also cooperate with one another to ensure that a similar situation does not develop in the future."

She returned her eyes to Trip. His eyes never left her but his head nodded back and forth as he spoke.

"That's right Capt'n; this was all one great big ole misunderstanding. We…..understand each other a little better….now."

Phlox gave Jon a sideways look, never breaking his smile. Jon also thought to get them to submit to treatment, without questions, was too good to be true. Phlox had told Jon that if T'Pol did the "two fingers" thing with Trip, then that would satisfy him that she would, eventually, accept the "treatment" as the right thing to do. Now Jon had to convince himself that Trip was ready.

"Trip."

Jon looked at him squarely in the eyes.

"I need to know before we start treating you two, are you….in love with T'Pol?"

Trip's mouth dropped open slightly and he blinked hard, several times as if searching to understand what his friend and Captain just asked him. If T'Pol's left eyebrow could have shot off her forehead it would have.

"Surely there is no reasonable need to have this particular topic discussed, Captain."

"I disagree T'Pol. Trip, and you are both my friends as well as my subordinate officers. I want to make sure that Trip is making the right decisions for the right reasons."

T'Pol was about to protest again when Trip grabbed her hand.

"It's OK, I'm Human and so is Jon, I have no problem telling my friend that I am in love with you. That when we are apart I only want your company again. That when you're….displeased with me….It burns like a fire inside. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had never met you, but I know it would have been less than it should have been. I know my life would be empty and meaningless if I ever lost you again. I love you T'Pol, I think I have from the moment I first set eyes on you. No one, nothing, makes me as….content and agreeable…in the whole Universe. "

She stared embarrassingly away from everyone, her eyes somewhat glistening. Her face slightly flushing a light green tint, through the emotional discomfort she still managed to not release his hand. She cut her eyes to meet his own.

"Really Commander, such an extravagant display was completely unnecessary."

Trip beamed at her and then smiled at Jon.

"Does that answer your question Capt'n?"

"It does" Jon nodded back.

Jon turned from them to face the Doctor with a look of conspiratorial irony.

"I believe they are ready to receive treatment Doctor."

Phlox was relieved that T'Pol and Trip were engrossed in each other's presence, or they might have noticed his previous and ubiquitous smile replaced with the less common display of apprehension.

"Very well."

Phlox pulled a small platform tray out behind T'Pol that had four hyposprays and two PADD's on it and then handed one to the Captain.

"If you will assist me with Commander Tucker I will administer to Commander T'Pol."

Jon nodded to the Doctor as they placed the hyposprays on the Commanders' respective necks.

"There is an appetite stimulant which will facilitate your mutual return to healthier masses. I will insist that for the time being the two of you refrain from strenuous exercise until I tell you otherwise. The stimulant will begin to work in a few minutes. In anticipation of you both making this decision, I had Chef prepare an adequate late night snack to get you both on your way to better health."

He reached for the two PADD's and handed them to the patients.

"Here is your dietary program for the length of your treatment. I expect you to follow them with near religious fanaticism. I will tolerate no excuses for deviation."

Trip crinkled his nose and squinted at his PADD

"Twelve protein shakes a day! I'll be bigger than Enterprise in a week!"

T'Pol lifted a delicate eyebrow at her PADD and then exchanged PADD's with Trip.

"Unless the Doctor believes that I will compromise my health further by ingesting animal flesh, I believe he gave us each other's PADDs by mistake."

"Indeed! My mistake"

Phlox grinned at them as they perused their correct dietary requirements. As he turned toward the remaining two hyposprays he and Jon locked concerned eyes briefly.

 _"_ _Don't blow it now"_ was the unsaid message from the Captain to his chief medical officer.

Phlox handed Jon one of the next set of hyposprays and they both put them once again on the jugular veins of their patients' necks.

"This is a sleep agent with a three-hour delay. That should allow you plenty of time to eat before bed."

T'Pol nodded acknowledgment as she continued to study her upcoming food intake requirements. Trip just smirked slightly in acknowledgment, having found his PADD full of his favorite foods and in copious amounts.

Phlox took Jon's spent hypospray and laid both beside the other two used before. He then reached his hand into his left pocket and produced a fifth hypospray. With practiced and gentle movement he placed it against Commander T'Pol's graceful neck and released the contents of its vial into her bloodstream.

"And finally the treatment."

He smiled slightly with great relief as he placed the spent device on the tray with the other empty ones. As he pushed the cart off to the corner it became apparent to T'Pol that unlike the other medications, he was not going to elaborate on this "treatment" any further.

Sudden alarm swam over the Commander's consciousness.

 _"_ _Their plan, that has to be it."_

Before she could turn and ask the Doctor what he had just given her, her T'hy'la, having apparently felt her sudden distress, asked for her.

"Um, Doc…exactly what is in the treatment you just gave her?"

Both Commanders' eyes locked on Enterprise's physician in anticipation of his answer. His eyes traveled toward the Captain who gave him a small grin and nodded his approval for a full explanation.

Phlox turned back slightly to avoid T'Pol's direct gaze. After performing a mild throat clearance he began to speak.

"The serum I administered to Command T'Pol contains an agent designed to help alleviate the neurochemical imbalance that currently is affecting her and through the bond, you as well. It will do so by encouraging a mental state within the Commander in which she will become more receptive to…further developing the telepathic bond between the two of you."

T'Pol rose to her feet and turned to face the Doctor. Trip also was on his feet, in response to her anxiety and…is it fear?…he felt radiating through the bond.

"Doctor" she began with a bit of a distressed look in her expression.

"Does this serum contain a microbe that you and I encountered on an away mission approximately two years and seven months ago?"

Phlox would not turn to face her. She knew the answer by his reaction alone.

"PHLOX?!" she yelled at his back.

Vulcans do not use common names casually, much less raise their voices. Her reaction startled everyone. She began her breathing exercises immediately to try to regain control but she began to tremble. Trip, not even sure why moved behind her while still maintaining what a Vulcan would consider a respectful distance. Out of direct eye sight of the Doctor or Captain, he gently placed his right index and middle fingers inside T'Pol's shaking left palm. He felt the coolness of ice travel up his arm as his skin prickled with goose bumps. When it reached his mind he could feel HER inside him. He also felt himself inside her.

 _"_ _Opposites do attract, don't they?"_ He asked himself in amusement. She apparently perceived his presence as fire and warmth.

"Apparently they do indeed, T'hy'la." She said both inside his mind and to the entire room.

The spell was broken, but it had achieved the goal that even Trip didn't realize it had had. She had regained her composure and control.

She cast her eyes over her shoulder and whispered to him, "thank you." He smiled at her as she returned her attention to the room. A brief thought of her early meditative encounter with both her imaginary sa-mekh and T'hy'la reminded her to never underestimate her own mind's ability to help heal her.

 _"_ _The Universe has sent you the same strength it sent to me, if you would only recognize and accept the strength you could draw from that source."_

 _"_ _We can help each other sweetheart, but you have to trust me to be strong, for both of us, at times."_

 _'_ _How very intriguing'_ she thought.

Jon and Phlox exchanged glances as the Captain silently mouth to him the question "Thyler?" The Doctor could only give a slight shrug in answer.

Her attention now focused fully once again on the duplicitous Doctor, she was interrupted by the Captain before restarting her interrogation.

"Commander T'Pol, I ordered Phlox to administer this treatment, having confirmed that you and Trip were both receptive to its long-term results. Having satisfied myself, I and I alone ordered this form of treatment. I believe that if you step back from the immediate impact of this revelation and examine this with perspective, you will agree that I and the Doctor made the only….logical choice available to us to treat the both of you in the most effective manner to save your careers."

She cocked her head to one side as she glanced at two people she respected and even would call friends. They had conspired together to put both her and Trip into a position where they, both, in their own ways, would finally admit their true intentions for one another. She had to admire the manner in which they succeeded in putting her into a position of no escape.

Then she looked into the bright blue eyes of the Human male who could simultaneously confuse, confound and frustrate her like nothing else she has ever encountered in her life. He could move from contemplative calm to head strong stubbornness to blind fury and come out the other side of this wild mental foray with logic and reason that Surak himself couldn't fault; all within mere seconds of time.

In spite of, or perhaps because of the confusion, contradiction, and variety that he brought into her life, she wouldn't wish to be without him in her existence.

No, it was not the right time for this. Nor was it right for the Captain and Doctor to have misled them into this lifelong commitment, but, she did see the logic in it.

The die was cast, as a common Human allegory for similar situations stated.

 _'_ _Perhaps I do want this, and now; but either way I will accept it for what logic it has and move forward with confidence in its results. I chose him as my bond mate, I desire no other, and this is the logical next step.'_

She would not, however, give the two conspirators the satisfaction of thinking they had made the logical and rational choices.

"Doctor, I assume that the treatment you developed from our previous encounter with this microbe still is effective?"

The Doctor and Captain both visibly deflated at her question.

"Well, in the realization that the microbe had to be rendered non-contagious to the rest of the crew, and that you would need its effects to be time delayed in order to rebuild your strength before it… …took place; I had to do certain modifications to it. However, there is no reason why these modifications should affect the effectiveness of the original treatment."

T'Pol nodded in understanding. "What would be the effects if I were already naturally in the state that this 'treatment' of yours was intended to induce artificially?"

Phlox was taken aback by this question. "Are you saying that you were already in a state of…that you were already in the necessary state?"

He removed his hand scanner and began studying the results of T'Pol's vital signs. Once the results were known to him, Phlox's consternation was clearly displayed on his face.

"I don't believe the treatment will cause any additional difficulties, though I can't be certain with a thing like this."

Trip spoke up at that point. "A thing like what? What are you talking about? Is she in any danger?"

Archer also chimed in. "I'd also like to know the answer to those questions Doctor."

Phlox smiled slightly and responded.

"T'Pol will fill you in on the details Trip, but suffice it to say, with a decent amount of certainty, her current condition will not be exacerbated by the treatment in any manner that could be potentially life-threatening. However, the effects it will have on the intensity or duration of the recovery period remain unknown. I'll have to take a blood sample and run a full analysis to be certain of any potential additional side effects."

To that, T'Pol indicated her agreement with a slight head nod; and Phlox used a hypospray to remove a vial of green copper-based blood from the Commander.

"Doctor" T'Pol asked, "can I assume, given the method you developed previously for removal of this microbe, that you would not recommend removing the microbe now given my weaken physical and mental state?"

The Doctor frowned slightly and nodded the affirmation. "You're too stressed now to respond positively to the treatment, outside of an induced comatose state, which would not solve your current symptoms or those of Commander Tucker."

"How many days before the effects of your 'treatment' begin?" She asked.

"Approximately four days" he replied.

He and Jon looked at each other in concern for their two friends. If T'Pol asked for the microbe removal treatment Phlox was obligated to give it to her. Then, in order to prevent both Commanders' from further physical deterioration, Jon would be forced to order Phlox to sedate and force feed them. Having to relieve them of duty against their wills' would require two additional senior officers' presence as Jon ordered Phlox to open the Commanders' private medical files. Said medical files would become open record at the mandatory hearing to determine if court-martial charges should be brought against either or both of them, by Starfleet Command. Jon suspected that there was more than enough evidence in both his senior most officers' medical files to warrant an inquiry well before they even got to their unusual personal relationship.

The fear of having to go that far to save the lives of his friends was distressing, to say the least.

T'Pol saved him from having to make such a dreadful decision.

"While I still question the logic behind your methods, and the ethics, I do not question your motives. I have already given my consent to be treated in whatever manner you see fit. Having determined that it is possible that your conclusions on the potential effectiveness of this form of treatment have…..some merit, I will explain the situation to the Commander, privately. Should he wish not to undergo this treatment of yours after I explain its full implications to him, then I will take the microbe removal treatment. However, should he wish to proceed," She turned to gaze in her T'hy'la's confused and baffled blue eyes, "I will willingly submit to completing the treatment in its entirety."

Trip looked then at Jon and Phlox before returning his eyes to her hazel and green jewels. "So YOU'RE going to explain to me what the hell just happened and what exactly is going on here, because I'm all confused now?"

With solid deadpan T'Pol stated, "that IS your usual state of understanding."

Jon and Phlox snickered a bit at the expression of consternation on Trip Tucker's face.

T'Pol then extended two of her left fingers to meet two of his right ones. He visibly began to relax and seemed to understand, somewhat, what was happening. She stared up at him in visible admiration, despite the gauntness he developed the past month.

"Indeed, we have much to discuss Mr. Tucker."

Just then a groan as if from the belly of a great beast slowly rolled upward and in intensity from someone's stomach. Jon and Phlox grinned sheepishly at Trip.

"What Y'all looking at? It wasn't me!"

T'Pol's face was a slight shade greener than before and she momentarily avoided eye contact before continuing. "I believe the Doctor stated sustenance had been obtained for us despite the early hour?"

Jon, Trip, and Phlox all snickered as she regarded them with the Vulcan equivalent of contempt. The raised eyebrow.

"Indeed Commander" Phlox added. "Several food items await you in the guest dining room on G Deck."

Trip looked at Phlox with surprise. "G Deck, why G Deck?"

"Ah!" the Doctor replied, "thank you for reminding me! Captain!"

Jon smiled knowingly back towards his Chief Medical Officer, "yes Doctor?"

"Thank you for coming at such an early hour."

"Not at all Doctor, whenever my two senior-most officers are both ill I consider it a matter of ship security. Please report."

The Doctor was beaming at this exercise in play-acting. T'Pol, on the other hand, had added a slight scowl at this 'theater production'.

"Captain, I regret to inform you that both Commanders T'Pol and Tucker have contracted the Simalian Wasting Virus. A nasty little creature if left untreated could have permanently damaged their digestive tracts."

"Are they contagious Doctor?"

"Not yet, the virus is only transmittable in the latter stages of its gestation. Luckily we caught it before then. I recommend that the Commanders be quarantined on G Deck for the duration of their treatment."

"Very well Doctor" Jon Archer replied.

Trip gave them an indignant look. "What in the world are we going to do on little ole G Deck for four days?"

T'Pol glanced at him then with what one would call sympathy. Phlox's grin split his head in two and Jon blushed and began to couch as he laughed too hard.

"Commander, as I stated before, we have a great deal to discuss; and this treatment will take longer than four days", T'Pol stated with infinite patience.

Phlox added his two cents as well. "I'm sure that if you run out of topics to discuss you two can find some other activities to occupy your time." This made Jon couch and laugh even more than before.

Once he regained his composure, Jon added his input. "You two will be confined to G Deck until Phlox allows you to return to duty. Food will be provided daily by either Phlox or me, as we don't want to involve anyone else in this for several reasons. There should be no need for the planetary science labs down there for a couple of weeks so no need to worry about visitors other than us. The whole deck is at your disposal."

"Capt'n" Trip began, "what if there's an emergency that requires one or both of our expertise?"

"Those situations will be determined when and if they arise."

"Captain" Phlox interjected. "Commander T'Pol, under no circumstances is to be removed from G Deck until I can medically clear her to do so. There are medical concerns involved. Commander Tucker may, if desperately needed, venture forth briefly. However, as his presence will be needed on G Deck for the same reasons that no one else should be down there, such a foray should be limited and short."

Jon nodded, "agreed".

Trip looked with concern at his pretty little Vulcan. _'What have I gotten you into?'_

She seemed not the least bit concerned as she returned his worry with….anticipation.

Their jovial physician never missed a beat.

"Well look at the time! Off to dinner and bed with you two. On to G Deck, full and healthy bellies and a good day's sleep!"

He was practically shoving them out the door.

"Hey, Doc" Trip asked, "I assume we can get some clothes or things from our quarters beforehand?"

"Oh no!" The Doctor returned "two contagious individuals such as you must report immediately to quarantine!"

Trip looked perplexed as he was passing through the Med Bay threshold. "What are we supposed to wear, not these same clothes all week?"

Phlox's grin reached his ears. "Nothing you want to keep!"

T'Pol gave him a parting glare as the doors closed behind them.

 _"_ _Perhaps I WILL have that conversation about doctor/patient confidentially with Phlox after all."_

As the Commanders proceeded to their temporary isolation Phlox let out a long-held sigh of relief. He marched right past Jon and opened a draw with two small glasses and a decanter of dark brown liquor. He poured two large drafts and passed a glass to the Captain.

"I didn't know you drank Doctor."

"Only on special occasions such as this", Phlox replied.

Jon took a sip of the single malt scotch, letting it warm his throat on its way down. Sleepiness was descending on him now that the excitement was over. He would have to excuse himself soon. It was already near 0-two thirty and 0-six hundred came early. Not everyone could operate on three hours sleep a night like his Denobulan Doctor.

He turned to ask Phlox. "Do you think we did the right thing?"

Phlox swished the contents of his glass in momentary contemplation before taking a sip and replying.

"Well, I had my doubts, but I was the one who brought it up. I was frankly surprised at how quickly she accepted it."

Jon pondered that for a moment. "Well, she still has a choice, as does he. She can take the microbe removal treatment or she can, though quite unlikely during Pon Farr with her bonded mate, choose not to mind meld and instigate the marriage bond."

Phlox eyed his commanding officer in an apprising manner. "I wonder how surprised she would be to learn that you were the source of most of this information we have about Vulcan physiology, bonds, and telepathy."

Jon nodded. "Very, considering she had a hard time accepting the concept of katras or that I had carried the katra of Surak. You know Doc; after Lieutenant Hess visited me it was like that part of my mind that still has some of Surak's wisdom just started to crack open. When you told me about the microbe and its effects it just opened the door even wider. If I didn't know better I would think that whatever was left of him in my old noggin even wanted this to succeed as well."

Phlox took another swig before replying, as did Jon. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if Surak would bless this union. He was the one who said ' _Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations'. What better represents that idea than a Human and Vulcan being married?"_

Jon couldn't think about anything as ironic as his calculating, systematic and almost emotionless Vulcan First Officer; and his hotheaded, emotionally sensitive, impulsive Chief Engineer; married!

"Do you remember Phlox, how they used to fight about anything? She just crawled right under his skin and he would get right in her face like she wasn't twice his strength and challenge everything she would say. On many occasions, I thought Trip might actually punch her. Add to that the fact that she was forced upon us by the Vulcans, she took Trip's position as my Executive Officer, and he thought she was a spy; it really is amazing THEY got together at all."

Phlox sent a sidelong glance at his Captain. Few knew like Phlox how much the Captain admired his First Officer. Perhaps Jon was a bit jealous of his best friend, but if he knew the whole story he might feel a bit better about the way things went.

"Actually Captain, I knew the first time I saw them interact together that there were 'sparks' as you Humans say, between them."

Jon cast a doubtful eye at the Doctor. "Really? How you figure that?"

"Vulcan females will simply ignore males they don't find intriguing, her willingness to confront and challenge Trip's concepts and preconceptions despite the fact that as his superior officer she could have disregarded his concerns without comment was a clear indication of her interest in him on a personal level. She CARED that he should understand her reasons for doing what she was doing. Also, Vulcan females love a good mental sparring partner. Add to that the fact that she always found a reason to work with him or be beside or near him physically, despite their outward animosity; and it really becomes quite…cute…..in an almost Vulcan schoolgirl crush sort of way."

"Trip on the other hand" Phlox continued "was more than willing to oblige her interest by taking every opportunity possible to argue about everything and anything with her. I was surprised she could resist him as long as she did. Even Soval and Ambassador V'Lar noticed her interest in him. They both discretely asked me about it, but I was able to deflect them from the topic, I think. I finally got tired of their prancing around each other and found the excuse I needed to help break down the barrier between them with neuropressure sessions, but even that went slower than I had anticipated."

Jon grinned big at the Doctor. "So, you finally admit that that was matchmaking 101 you were engaged in?"

Phlox finished his drink with a crooked grin. "I considered it a service to the ship. Their constant angst was enough for one of those ancient Earth soap operas I've heard about!"

Jon laughed, then as he finished the last of his single malt, he turned serious again.

"They face a hard journey together. They'll have to hide and sneak around as long as they're both in Starfleet. They'll be scorned on Earth, looked down upon on Vulcan, and be an object of curiosity everywhere else they go. I know they'll make it because their bond is so strong, but will they find true contentment? Will they even be able to raise a family?"

Phlox smiled brightly at the Commanders' very concerned friend. "Oh yes Jon, they will. Poor baby Elizabeth was the key. By seeing what those horrible Terra Prime idiots did to that sweet child I was able to determine what to fix next time. If T'Pol or any Vulcan or Human woman wanted to have the child of a member of the other species I am confident that would be a one hundred percent possibility. Baby Elizabeth's final gift to both her parents and both her species. Of course, I suppose tonight could also be attributed to her. If not for the pain of her loss, her parents may have taken years longer to reach this point together."

Jon smiled brightly. "Well that bit of happy knowledge was the perfect end to a long and surprisingly rewarding night Doctor, excuse me, I meant morning! Thanks for the drink. Afraid some of us can't function on three hours as you can!"

Jon stretched and yawned loudly as he prepared for the walk toward his quarters at the front of the ship. Phlox frowned disapprovingly. "Now Captain, we don't need all three of our top officers incapacitated."

Jon shot the Denobulan a look of concern. "What do you mean Phlox?"

As Chief Medical Officer I relieve you of duty till twelve hundred hours tomorrow…..I mean today. You are ordered to get a full morning's sleep. No arguing! Doctor's orders and I'll inform Mr. Reed and Ms. Hess of the Commanders' incapacity and your need for rest. Mr. Reed does so enjoy being in the big chair!"

Jon cocked his head to the side with a crooked smile and then yawned again. "Alright Doc, I'm too tired to argue and I'm sure Porthos will want to take a walk before bed. Have a good night."

"Good morning Captain" Phlox returned, which only made Jon grimace.

As he was stepping through the doorway Jon turned for one last comment.

"And Phlox, good work tonight. I was a little worried when you had the 'treatment' hypo that you might drop it, but you came through in the clutch, as the old-timers on Earth would say."

Phlox gave Jon a half grin. "I was worried too Sir, so I gave her the microbe in the first injection and the sleep agent last."

Jon shook his head and smiled as the doors closed behind him.

 _"_ _One hell-of-a-way to start a new day."_


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note:

Fair warning: So this one is a little racy but I don't think it crosses over into Mature Audience territory.

* * *

They hadn't said a word to each other on the way toward the turbolift or inside it. The turbolift quickly deposited the Enterprise's only two Commander ranked officers onto a very empty G Deck. There hadn't been a need to talk. The bond between them had been reborn after long and lonely weeks of mutual mental walls being imposed by each of them. Now they both basked in the radiant hum that bridged their minds. Trip, in completely open and unadulterated blissfulness; T'Pol, in her usual more subdued amusement at his equally usual exuberance. There was an undercurrent of regret toward one another, a byproduct of their lack of communication that had led to their previous mental and current physical states. Of course, she was always in their minds with them as well. She always would be, forever. Somehow, despite her original assumptions to the contrary, having Trip to share the burden of Elizabeth T'Mir's death had instantly lightened both of their emotional burdens.

Since her outburst at Phlox minutes before, T'Pol had tried to erect a small barrier in her mind so that he couldn't feel the emotions surrounding the "treatment's" implications. She was only partially successful. It was an odd mixture of fear, anxiety, anticipation, joy, and desire. He wasn't sure whether that unique combination boded well or not for them.

As the door to the turbo lift slid open there was no need for T'Pol's superior olfactory senses to determine if food was present. Trip's mouth watered instantly and his stomach practically roared. T'Pol sent his abdomen her usual raised eyebrow before giving Trip an interesting look.

He smirked at her "almost as loud as yours."

As she redirected that raised eyebrow at his face, she replied.

"I do detect YOUR preferred sustenance selections."

They proceeded past the centrally located planetary sensor array housing that formed this deck's only hallway and entered the further of the two guest quarters located near the front of the ship's second smallest deck.

T'Pol had smelled something else unusual in the hallway beside the food. As the doors to the guest quarters opened she saw the unique odor's source. Numerous candles in varied shapes, sizes and fragrances had been placed strategically around the room. A large bowl of Earth fruit selections occupied the table as did a large pitcher of water, and a lighting implement.

Trip gave a long, low whistle.

"I think I'm starting to get a hint exactly where this 'treatment' is supposed to lead us."

He pointed her attention toward the bed which, to the mutual curiosity of both had deep scarlet colored silk sheets and lavish silk pillows on it. Trip could feel T'Pol's mood cool quickly as she turned toward him.

"Apparently Crewman Cutler also is involved in our treatment, as is Ensign Sato" she said to him with mild irritation, in response to his unspoken curiosity.

Trip figured that Hoshi and Elizabeth would be the two other people on board with a candle supply to rival T'Pol's. T'Pol clearly thought that the number of people involved in this was getting out of hand. She was not amused.

Trip looked at the well-decorated bed again and swallowed hard.

"I suspect you DO have a lot to talk to me about."

He felt her apprehension over the involvement of others melt from T'Pol's soul as she turned toward him with her eyes staring up into his. The emotions they were sharing between them at that moment made physical contact unnecessary. Her "ice" and his "fire" swam between, around and through them. The room, the ship, the universe was gone and replaced only with her hazel and green eyes looking at him with…love. He was always surprised how her eyes and one eyebrow could transmit feelings to him in such clarity when others simply saw a cold, unexpressive Vulcan face.

The physical space between them disappeared as she gently placed both palms against his chest and slowly moved them down and under his arms to wrap them around his back as she simultaneously broke eye contact and laid her head upon his chest. The twinge of concern peered through their blissful bond as she transmitted to him her reaction over the fact that her arms did not have as far to go as they once did. As he wrapped himself around her shoulders and placed his head gently down on top of hers he let out almost breathless words.

"My T'hy'la, my beautiful pi'yel."

She moved her head to look into his eyes again with surprised curiosity filling the bond.

"How did you come to learn these words Trip?"

He stared back at her and spoke. "I don't really know but that first one, T'hy'la?" She nodded so that he knew it was said correctly. "Well, the first time I…..felt it, was….well….THAT night back in the Expanse."

"Most curious." She replied to him with almost a smile.

"And the other word?"

He broke eye contact as they began to moisten. Sadness filled the bond as T'Pol realized that to him those words were forever linked to their lost child.

"You think of Elizabeth when you say that?"

He looked at her again with one corner of his mouth turned slightly upward.

"I can't explain where I heard or felt either of those words but that one, I never have felt a word feel more…right…than that one in reference to her when I first looked at her on Luna. Well, perhaps that first word feels as right for you too."

His smile at her was just the physical manifestation of the unbridled passion and love that he sent her now. No Vulcan male would have, even in the most desperate and intense moments of the Pon Farr, been able to send more pure and unfettered emotion through any mental bond than her Human can. She admired the way that Humans were so free with their feelings and none were more free with emotion than her T'hy'la. She melted into him in every way imaginable. She was about to lose ALL of her control in this moment of luxurious feelings.

 _"MY Human!"_

Her mind, her katra screamed in joy and violent possession!

Trip could feel through her bond with him the sudden fear she felt as her control slipped away from her and the realization that she WISHED it to swamp her, to overwhelm her.

"What's going on, what's wrong?" he said out loud and sent into her mind as he stroked her cheek.

She pushed away from him slightly and began her breathing exercises. She was asking her mind to regain control again from the sea of emotions; but it was even harder than earlier because this time she truly was willing to drown in them, she WANTED to be overwhelmed!

That realization did nothing to help her.

Then there was "fire" again. A cleansing "flame" that burned away the emotions that were upon her. She felt him surround her katra like a firestorm and burn away the emotion as she also felt him wrap himself physically around her again. His concerns for her subdued and his confidence high, his confidence that HE could solve this problem, any problem between them now that he had the proper knowledge to do so.

In her mind she said the words she thought as amazement surrounded her understanding of the power within the katra of HER HUMAN, HER T'HY'LA.

 _"Trip Tucker is an engineer,_ he solves problems." She completed out loud.

Looking down into the haunting and deep eyes of the tiny, complicated, perfectly confusing and perfectly amazing woman that he loved with all his soul, Trip raised his eyebrow at her words; but had no need for questions.

"Well dar'lin, I like to think I can anyway."

Back in some control of herself again, she would not allow her T'hy'la's ego to become too engorged. "Sometimes" she said as she looked up in mock disapproval.

Their bond had become too open and too strong for him to not know she was grateful for the help. He grinned down at her in self-satisfaction.

"Well, I solved this problem didn't I?"

She realized she must help regulate him before his smugness became intolerable.

"Solved? Perhaps, but only somewhat."

She released his embrace and proceeded toward the door to the small kitchen area next to the guest quarter. He followed her with a slight frown on his face at her obstinacy.

As Trip came into the dining area his eyes began to grow as he took in the visage of what appeared to be a twelve-course meal on the table. Corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, green beans, collard greens, black-eyed peas, broccoli casserole, grilled squash and zucchini, macaroni and cheese, rolls and right in the middle of the semicircle these dishes formed around the chair that he knew had to be his designated location, sat the biggest rib eye steak on Enterprise. Blueberry muffins and apple pie rounded out the menu.

T'Pol was surprised when Trip nearly knocked her over on his way to the table.

"Sorry babe" he let out as he plopped his posterior down in the chair. She calmly rounded to the other side of the table and took her place opposite him.

"Babe?" she asked him.

"A term of endearment for someone you're close to, usually of the opposite sex." He replied succinctly and with Vulcan-like efficiently. Perhaps she could have a good influence on him, eventually.

Trip bowed his head slightly and closed his eyes as he silently thanked the deity he believed in, and then immediately showed her that her influence on him was still limited as he skillfully used a knife and fork to open up the animal flesh with ease and shove the largest, rawest-looking piece in his mouth. She felt fortunate that he chose to chew it thoroughly before attempting to swallow it. When he repeated the action in quick succession she noticed that unlike other times he ate flesh in front of her he was not removing the fat.

"Commander, surely you are not too ravished to spare a moment to remove the glutinous material from that meat?"

He knew even without the bond that his consumption of meat, any meat, caused her consternation. Out of respect for her delicate sensibilities, he had always made a point to not eat steak fat in front of her; despite his usual habit of doing so. He also never ate fat in front of his mother.

It was odd to him to think of that and of the other similarities between the two women he loved most, at a time like this.

In his defense, this time he had a good excuse. With his mouth full he passed to T'Pol a small note that was hidden from her view by his plate. She read it with a raised eyebrow.

"Eat the fat too please, Phlox."

She placed the note down with obvious disapproval of its contents. She then noticed that there were several notes on her side of the table as well.

Her own dining plate had several raw, steamed, or grilled plant items. She normally avoided potatoes for their high carbohydrate content, but she knew she would make an exception this time to rebuild her mass. To her side were a large garden salad and a decanter containing what appeared to be balsamic vinaigrette. She normally would not use dressing because of fat and caloric content, but there was a note attached to it. As she flipped it open she saw Phlox's signature at the bottom and flowing Vulcan script above it.

Noticing her irritation despite his mouthful of corn, Trip sent a questioning look. She turned it so that he could see the written Vulcan language.

Clearly not understanding the issue he said with a full mouth "what's it say?"

She lifted that rather active eyebrow of her's at him again in mild consternation at his obtuseness.

"It says 'pour all of the dressing on the salad and eat it entirely', however that is not why I showed it to you."

Still not understanding, Trip sent the questioning look again.

She replied mildly, "Phlox is not fluent in spoken or written Vulcan."

Clarity spread across his face to match his jaws full of dinner roll.

"Hoshi again?"

T'Pol gave him a resigned nod of affirmation. After swallowing his current mouthful he added his own opinion.

"Well, she's a friend of both of ours so I can live with her knowing….some things. She's also the ship's Communications Officer so if anyone would find out it would be her. She's pretty discrete, and so is Cutler. I don't think either of 'em or Malcolm would try to hurt us by snitching."

T'Pol's eyes widen quickly.

"Malcolm?"

Trip shot her as innocent a look as he could and quickly stuffed his face again.

"Well, um….he knows I…..we…..well I…."

"I see" she said with some disapproval in her voice.

"Don't mean he'll think THIS is anything new, I mean, us starting things back-up or anything." Trip added in his defense.

She simply stared back at him. He could feel her concern in the bond that he apparently, to her at least, was not concerned enough that more people were being included into something she would have rather been just between them. He quickly tried to quell her concerns.

"Malcolm is my friend and yours too. I trust him just as much as Hoshi, Jon, Phlox, Anna and Travis."

Her alarm at the last two hit him like a brick in the face.

"Not that Anna and Travis, or for that matter Malcolm too, know anything. I was just saying I trust 'em enough that if they did know anything, that they would be discrete about it and not tell anyone else."

"It is not that I do not trust them, Trip; but our 'treatment' will be permanent and ongoing. Starfleet Command would not be pleased with our 'treatment's' inherent nature. If someone in authority knew, our reassignment to other, separate, postings would be the mildest potential consequence. Also, as we are both painfully aware, some outside factors would disapprove of its nature and might seek to use it to their advantage and toward ours and Starfleet's mutual detriment."

The subtle reminder of Terra Prime and other xenophobic groups brought Elizabeth back to the forefront of Trip's mind and sobered him quickly. Knowing how he thinks and feeling his emotions she decided to let him in on some additional important information.

"Not all of those factors may come from Earth T'hy'la, some sections of Vulcan society also do not approve of outside influences and may seek to use our unique situation to their advantage as well."

Trip was both relieved and concerned to learn this fact, but he was willing to leave it at that for now. He then used his fork to point at her plate.

"We can talk about those things and what, EXACTLY, our 'treatment' is after WE eat."

She nodded in agreement "a most prudent course of ac…"

"Fewer words, more food!"

With a most indignant Eyebrow of Doom, as Trip once called that particular eyebrow look of her's to Malcolm's jocular amusement, she let him know that THAT had been unnecessary.

She slowly turned her attention toward her food. Within minutes her controlled eating habits had been overtaken by her body's ravished need for sustenance. Soon she was no longer slicing her potatoes and other vegetables with a knife, but simply using the folk as a cutting implement. When that too was no longer efficient enough she simply stuck the folk in and dumped the whole potato into her mouth.

Trip was too busy with his own gorging to notice until she turned to the balsamic drenched salad and wrapped her left arm around the bowl, and lifted it off the table and to her chest. Then, as she used the right arm/hand/fork combination as a shovel to get the greens to her mouth, Trip finally looked up in mild amazement. With a full mouth himself, he asked with amazement "hungry much?"

Through her mild embarrassment, she nodded slightly and continued. Even after the salad was gone she was still hungry. Trip finally looked to be reaching the end of his own hunger orgy. He looked at her as she searched the other half-gone food items.

"I suspect that we were meant to share the stuff closest to your side of the table."

He indicated the black-eyed-peas, collard greens, green beans, and corn. T'Pol tilted her head slightly and reached for the corn on the cob with her hands. Trip's jaw dropped open as he witnessed her use BOTH hands to devour the corn. Then she stuck her fork directly into the collards and finished them. This amazed him as she was the same woman that once used a fork and butter knife to cut a hard breadstick to avoid using her hands on her food.

She too finally felt satisfied and apparently the time released sleep aid was beginning to work. Trip stretched and yawned fiercely as she worked to suppress a yawn of her own. Then Trip's eyes light up and a broad smile pleasantly pulled his teeth free of his lips' coverage of them. She had a warm, almost wild sensation well up from her abdomen and wash over her as his smile and twinkling eyes made it harder and harder for her to not want to…

 _"What is wrong with me?"_ she asked herself. Trip then, fortunately, broke her from that thought.

He reached for yet another note and with a gleeful expression as he read it he turned to her and said, "well beautiful, looks like today will be full of new experiences for us both."

He handed her the note for her own inspection as he rose and moved toward the cooling unit. The note read:

"Sorry no Pecan Pie tonight Trip. Apple Pie has more of what you and Commander T'Pol will need. Make sure she eats the same exact amount you do and make sure that that is at least half! Also, ice cream is in the cooler, she will need that too. Phlox."

Trip plopped back down with a container just as T'Pol finished reading. She gave him a look that let him know that she found none of this as amusing as he did.

"I am sure the Doctor did not anticipate that I would eat as much as I already have" she protested.

Trip's grin tried to rival one of Phlox's as he slowly shook his head from side to side.

"No way you're getting out of this one T'hy'la" he said as he plunged the serving utensil into the pie.

His joy at this moment of discovery for her warmed her like a campfire on a cold night in the Forge. His happiness was infectious. It was then she noticed, as he dropped an obscene sized piece of pie on a serving plate, that the corners of her mouth were at an upward angle. She quickly regained composure as her concern was forwarded to Trip, but not before she had wiped the emotional expression from her face.

He took the concern to be about the upcoming dessert.

"Don't worry, Chef makes one of the tartest apple pies going, so the sweetness isn't so overpowering" he said as he dropped what she knew WAS a very sweet glob of vanilla ice cream on top of the warm pie piece.

"Plus I'm willing to bet that Vulcans' would surely have the same physical adaptation that Humans and Denobulans have to deal with these particular food items after a full meal."

Her perplexed look demanded an explanation from him. His grin widened as he answered "a separate dessert stomach of course."

Her perplexed look only increased. "Humans and Denobulans to my knowledge have only one stomach. I can assure you Vulcans have but one."

He began laughing uncontrollably as he placed the plate and its sucrose laced contents before her.

"I see, an ATTEMPT at humor, fascinating."

The semi-contemptuous look on her face said it was anything but fascinating. That, combined with the mild mental rebuke she sent him, only served to send him further into hysterical laughter as he went into the pie to get his own piece.

Once he had placed the even more obscene pie piece and ice cream scoop on his plate and sat back down, she decided it was best to not cause him further convulsive gyrations by continuing the previous conversation.

She looked at the pie and slowly melting combination on top of it with an uncertain expression. She felt a new sensation from him in their bond. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something…sexual, perhaps….in his need to see her eat this dessert.

He was already deep into his pie and was…waiting….to see her expression when she tasted hers. She found it agreeable to increase these unique feelings within her T'hy'la in order to examine them longer before they dissipated. She then began a new conversation to distract him from his anticipation.

"I assume by your repeated correct usage of the word T'hy'la that you apparently have deduced its meaning?"

That caught him off guard but he went right into it while still observing her hand/mouth combination for any sudden movements toward the dessert.

"Well, I assume it's a Vulcan term of endearment, like dar'lin or sweetie or babe."

T'Pol nodded slightly and added "correct, but as we Vulcans avoid being emotional we tend to never use it unless we are alone in the presence of the one it is intended for."

He nodded in comprehension. She continued "it also is much broader than most similar Human terms in scope and meaning. Depending on who it is directed towards it takes on the different emphasis. A very close friend can also be addressed T'hy'la. A sibling may also as in both contexts they would have a similar meaning."

"So, in that case, it's like calling someone 'brother'?"

She nodded in agreement and then continued.

"My parents also called me T'hy'la as I and you would think of Elizabeth as our T'hy'la."

"And Lorian too?" Trip interjected.

T'Pol seemed taken aback by the question.

"I assume the other T'Pol and Trip called him so. I never examined the issue closely. If you think of him a T'hy'la I could understand that, as his father had been dead for so long. To me, he was the other T'Pol's son and as she was still very much alive I never felt the need to explore the connection further."

Trip smiled back at her with sympathy. She didn't develop relationships on whims and she would have found interacting with her much older 'son' difficult on anything but a professional level.

"It kind of helps that he was older then both you and I combined" he added diplomatically to get her out of having to examine it now. She nodded in agreement.

"So" he asked, "what does it mean when two people in our situation say it to one another?"

She quirked up that beautiful, perfectly detailed upswept eyebrow at him with the expression Trip would have called amusement in her hazel-green eyes and answered his question with her own.

"What do YOU FEEL it means to you?"

He grinned with obvious affection transmitted to her through the bond and his shinning pools of rich blue eyes like the waters of Lake Sal'Kot where she went to spend time with her Second Foremother T'Mir in the winters of her youth.

 _"I must pull back from these sudden emotional forays,"_ she told herself as he responded.

"To me it means all of the above and more. It means everything."

Again she felt herself drifting into the uncontrollable sea of love, lust, and desire for her exotically blonde and fair skinned T'hy'la.

 _"I'm beginning to lose my control now? I must focus."_

"Commander Tucker" she said with those amazing lips of hers, "you can be quite perceptive at times when you apply yourself."

He loved it when she looked at him that way. It was almost better than a smile. It was then that he wondered just how long they had had this bond and hadn't realized it. He knew he had always felt…..something…..for her, since the very beginning, but for how long had she?

She asked another question then.

"Do you know what pi'yel means T'hy'la?" she said in curiosity and anticipation. The question had taken him down instantly from his emotional high.

She could see the instant change from joy to melancholy in those eyes she admired so much. Then as if he had said it to her from another room over the comm link, she heard his voice in her head.

 _"My poor_ pi'yel _, I'm so sorry baby girl. I wish that I had been a better father and saved you Elizabeth."_

To hear him so clearly in her mind startled and frightened her. Such clarity of emotion as they had previously shared was extremely rare in the betrothal bond, but non-touch full verbalization telepathy was rare even for the marriage bond.

 _"This man is part of me now, part of who I_ am _,"_ she said to herself in surprised and sudden astonishment.

Then she quickly focused on his uncontrolled pain, loss, and despair.

Her T'hy'la needed her.

She focused her eyes on him and saw two thin lines of clear liquid running down each of his cheeks as he closed his eyes in a rather Vulcan-like attempt at concentration and focus to drive the pain down.

To push his own "piston of emotions" from himself.

 _"My brave and noble T'hy'la, MY WONDERFULLY SURPRISING HUMAN!"_

She grabbed both his hands, which instantly opened his eyes to her. Then she pushed with all her mental might to force away his pain. She watched in delight and relief as his skin prickled in the "ice" of her presence.

 _"How quickly he recovers from his emotional_ storms _,"_ she thought with amazement and a slight twinge of jealousy, as he had fully recovered and was now sending her his "fire" back.

Then she realized he was pushing back hard, in obvious concern for her!

She opened her eyes again. The look of shock on his face was terrifying to her.

"What is it T'hy'la? What is wrong?" she asked in desperation.

"I don't know baby, you tell me?" He said with deep concern on his face.

It was then she felt the coolness down each cheek as water dripped from them and landed on her bodysuit. She ran a hand along her face and then examined the liquid on her fingers in practiced detachment. She rubbed the fluid between her thumb and fingers as if trying to verify that it was indeed what she thought it was, tears.

She then turned her attention back to him and in the most unemotional fashion possible stated the obvious.

"It appears I have cried."

Trip's concerned face soon added bewilderment to the expressional mixture of his features.

"Uh….T'hy'la….that's pretty odd for you."

She contemplated his statement and replied as only a Vulcan would "indeed it is."

 _"What the hell is going on here?"_ he asked himself.

She tilted her head and said, "I believe I have a theory to explain this."

 _"Did I just say that out loud?"_ was his next question to his own mind.

To his eternal amazement, her hazel-green eyes softened to his favorite look and she added the most unexpected thing in the world.

After four and a half long years, and after giving up on ever seeing it, there it was. Slight and small yet seductive and powerful, the corners of her mouth pushed her lush lips slightly upward.

A Vulcan Smile!

At that moment he teetered on the edge of shock and bliss.

She replied to his internal question while still smiling.

"No T'hy'la, you did not say that out loud."

He blinked at the further revelation that she not only felt his emotions but could hear what he thought.

Then she further shocked him by frowning and her tears began to stream freely.

"My sa-mekh, my father, used to call me pi'yel. It means 'little star' and the fact that you knew…..that you called our…..precious infant…our Little Star that…I…I can't!"

She clutched at her lower right chest, where a Vulcan heart was located.

"I can't…express…..I!"

He was crying again too. He could feel her emotions flowing from her and hitting him as if they were his own. He finally understood how powerful Vulcan emotions were. He finally understood why Vulcans suppressed them. He could barely control his own reactions to them.

She suddenly stopped and refocused on him. Then, with apparent realization across her face, she locked eyes with him and said it.

"I love you!"

His eyes and mouth opened together in utter shock.

"What did you just say?"

She looked down in confusion, not believing she had said such a thing herself, and then she looked him in the eyes again.

"I….love….you! I love you! I love you so much it hurts! I love Charles Preston Tucker the Third! I love you Trip! I love you so much! Oh….Oh it hurts! I need you so much…..it hurts!"

She began to cry again.

His T'hy'la needed him!

He took her trembling form into his full embrace.

That was not, exactly, the right thing for him to do. The electricity that their skin on skin contact caused was a bolt of purely emotional, sensational energy that neither could handle. She went wheeling backward and he dropped to the deck as all feeling left his lower extremities.

What he felt as their bond took sudden physical form for that briefest of moments was almost worth permanent paralysis.

 _"Hell, that was worth dying for!"_ he thought vaguely.

She refocused on him then and in pure irrational emotion, she yelled at him in fear.

"You cannot die! I need you to live T'hy'la! I am dead without you! Dead inside forever!"

Fear washed from her soul over his!

"Humans!" she screamed "have such short lives! I'm…scared you will die too soon! AHHHHHHH!" she bellowed.

 _"Yes, NOW she needs my strength the most. I must be strong for her."_

As he stood up with determination and purpose, he slowly extended both hands outward. She looked at him with desire, bewilderment, and fear.

"We're prepared now T'hy'la. I have a bit more experience with emotions than you do. Let me be strong for you now."

Her expression softened as she considered him with approving, tear stained eyes. Then, slowly, she reached toward his hand and when they touched it was milder but no less wonderful. They both closed their eyes as they basked in the strength of each others' feelings. As her other hand reached his they opened the eyes of their minds to each other and were suddenly in her 'white space' of meditation, then that melted away as the sights, sounds, and smells of his lost home wrapped around them. They were in the backyard of the home he grew up in. The only home he had ever truly felt was his until he came to Enterprise.

"This was your home T'hy'la?" She asked with concern. To his delight she was wearing a light white sundress covered in flower-patterns. The slight breeze gently lapping the skirt around her perfect legs.

"It is! …it was" he said as he looked toward the house. She could smell the fragrance of the magnolia blossoms on the same breeze that blew the Spanish Moss hanging from the Weeping Willows near the lake shore.

"Lizzy, our brother Bert and I all grew up in that house," he told her with a smile. Then he looked back at her as his mouth turned downward.

"We believe Lizzy most likely died inside the house. She was normally home from classes at that time of day. Had maw and dad not decided to go on vacation…"

She walked over to him and placed her hand against his face to comfort him.

"T'hy'la, I wish we could stay here longer, now that I know where to find it for you, I promise we will come here again."

As he smiled at her their internally shared dream world changed around them. They were in the courtyard of her home on Vulcan. She now wore the same beautiful purple dress she wore on that horrible day when he had thought his life was over and that he would never experience love again. He looked down and saw that he wore his Starfleet full dress uniform. Looking back at her she gave him a gentle smile.

"We do not have long before the Pon Farr overtakes me. When it does the time for explanations will be over and I will only be concerned with actions."

He smiled back at her, "Pon Farr? I think I understand now, that's what's causing you to become emotional?"

"Yes" she replied, "it's the only time a Vulcan normally cannot control their emotions. The only cure is prolonged and repeated sexual intercourse or intense meditation that could result in death."

"I choose the former!" Trip said with a half laugh. T'Pol grinned slightly before turning serious again.

"We must discuss two important issues before I lose the ability to keep us here. The treatment Phlox gave me was supposed to initiate the Pon Farr four days from now, but I was already in a natural state leading toward the Pon Farr. We are both physically weak and I soon will lose the ability to be concerned about it, or much else outside of mating. The first thing you must do when we exit the meditative state is call Phlox to examine me. Its more intense than I expected and I think that the microbes might be amplifying my natural Pon Farr in an unexpected manner. I don't want him to stop it. I have resolved myself that this is what I want. It is important that you understand that."

Trip nodded his understanding, "I do understand, but if your life is endangered…."

"Trip, this brings me to another point of concern. I need you to be certain that this is what you want."

"It is! I…." She placed two fingers on his lips to silence him before she continued.

"Trip, we will have an even more powerful bond imposed between us. You must fully understand and accept the lifelong implications of exactly what we will be doing here…."

Her voice trailed off as she began to notice the purple of her dress descending downward as if being bleached out. Left behind was the same dress in pure white.

Trip held both her hands and answered her questioning look. "My beautiful T'hy'la, I knew that dress would make a wonderful wedding gown, even on Earth."

She began to cry again.

"I may never say it again, I may only say it every few years, but I need you to know that I love you with everything I am, all of my katra, my soul. I need you to know that I made this choice in my very beginning long before we ever had our first neuropressure session. You ARE my choice, I will love no other for all of my life but you."

His eyes filled with tears of joy as he replied.

"I am truly the luckiest man in the history of the Universe. I will live every day of my life in the wonder of how a simple, ole southern boy tinkering engineer like me could have possibly done something so right as to merit the love of the single most fascinating, intelligent, and beautiful life form in the entire Universe."

T'Pol blushed slightly green.

"Really Commander, such lavish extravagance is excessive" she replied with a shy smile.

"Trip, you must now break physical contact with me immediately. Call Phlox, get me the largest candle from the other room, light it, sit me in front of it and dim the other lights; in that order!"

"Alright….. wife" he answered. She smiled again.

"Are you prepared to return" she asked.

"Almost, just one more thing!"

He snatched her up in his imaginary arms, bent his face down to meet hers, and ignited the mixture of elements that made their unique and complicated relationship the wonder it was. Her lips were always amazing but this was the first time they had kissed in the meditation state. It was just as good with several fringe benefits of its own.

He could hear her thoughts as words in his mind. He could feel her heart beating under his.

As they both broke the meditative spell he could hear her words as he pressed in on her mouth fighting for the very last moment.

"From the beginning, till the end. Yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever, I will love you, T'hy'la, till the end of the existence of the Universe and beyond."

* * *

Trip woke as if from the most wonderful dream he had ever experienced. He felt weak and his head was swimming in a state of drunkenness. He was literally drunk on the power of the emotions he shared with his T'hy'la.

 _"How odd that I think of her in Vulcan words now?"_

He thought absentmindedly as he struggled to return to this existence. He knew there was something he must do, whatever it was, was just at the edge of his mind, just barely out of reach. There, but not yet tangible. He could feel his physical form stumbling for balance.

 _"What in the world has this woman done to me?"_

Then he felt her hands across his back and her arms pulling him from his near collapse. How smooth and graceful she moved about him. He always felt like a plodding oaf around her.

Then she was on him. She, with significant force, had pulled him tight into her tiny package of a body. He felt like she had wrapped him around her like a giant comforter blanket. Her superior Vulcan strength made it impossible for him to release himself from her embrace, not that he wanted to be free of her in the first place.

She pressed hard into his mouth with her searching lips. Their kisses had always been where the most passion was shown in their relationship before. For a cold, calculating Vulcan who suppressed her emotions; kissing was an art form for her. This time was different though. There was surely no grace in this one. It was full force lust and she was hungry indeed.

He liked this. Her hands were grasping at the back of his hair. Her mouth was going wild in response to him, and the bond between them was on fire. There was none of her "ice" anymore; she was pure "fire" now too and burning twice as hot as he ever could. Then, as if to prove himself wrong, he began to burn inside with a new level of intensity of his own. That swimming feeling he couldn't shake intensified. He could feel them both feeding off each other with abandon. This was getting more and more out of control and his very being screamed at him to let her have her way.

A moment of clarity shot through the drunken haze of these exquisite sensations.

 _"Phlox, she told me to get Phlox, she said this wasn't right."_

She broke their lip lock and stared at him with appraising eyes, apparently as calm as she had ever been. A few blinks of his eyes and he slowly was sobering up. A quick shake of his head and he almost felt normal again. Then he locked eyes with her. She gave him nothing but that beautiful appraising eyebrow raised high in contemplation of his facial features.

Then she said with Vulcan like stoicism "I do not require the Doctor's assistance T'hy'la, only you can effectively treat my condition."

With her hands locked tight on either side of his head, she began to smile, slowly, hungrily, almost menacingly at him. The corners of her mouth led upward revealing her gorgeously white teeth. Then through those teeth snaked out the tip of her wet tongue as it slowly moistened first her upper then her lower luscious pink lips. He could feel the lustful sensations welling up in him again, the mutual fire that spread between their bond and threatened to engulf them both. He knew he had to break away from this moment, but everything in his being besides his rational mind, or what was still left of it, screamed to give in to this, his moment of just reward.

He grabbed her upper arms from the outside and tried to push back from her embrace. Her expression changed to one of determined anger.

"We…have….to get….Phlox…..dar'lin." He protested as she tightened her grip.

A vengeful and powerful roar emanated from deep in her diaphragm as she protested back.

"NO! I don't want the damned doctor and his 'cures'! I want YOU! NOW!"

He spun from her to try to break her arm lock around him. Once she had let go he began to move away from her. That's when a sudden stab of pain emanated from his back as she raked both hands down it. The tearing sound he heard could only have been his new uniform jacket being opened from the wrong side. The sudden sensation of coolness on his back could only be his blood coming up to the surface of his skin where she had opened it up with her fingernails.

She grabbed either side of his uniform top and effortlessly ripped it off his body in two tattered pieces, the undershirt was virtually unrecognizable as its shreds fell to either side of them. Trip was so stunned by the action that he'd completely forgotten the feeling of the 10 perfect ribbons of nail marks and slight bleeding left in the wake of her sudden actions.

T'Pol's eyes looked at the damage she had done to her beloved and she began to tremble and tear up. Trip grabbed her by the shoulders as she began to convulse with grief.

"My precious T'hy'la, please forgive me! I am so terrible. Don't hate me love! Please forgive me, PLEASE!"

He wrapped her in a bear hug.

"No babe, it's OK, I love you so much. There's no need for forgiveness. These are just little love marks. They let me know you…care?"

As she calmed in his arms, her head upon his bare chest, he began to feel the pain that her 'love marks' caused. Then he felt her gently kissing him. As she kissed him the bond came alive yet again. She began to want more, again; he began to want more again too! He had to act quickly.

"Beautiful T'hy'la, I love you so much. These scratches are nothing" he told her in a low and relaxing tone. She turned her head upward to look at him. In her eyes were desperation, regret, relief, and the slowly building lust that would soon displace the others in its unyielding intensity. He had to make his move now.

"These don't even hurt, but….perhaps I should get Phlox to treat them so they won't become infected?"

Her expression changed to one of concern, contemplation, and fascination.

She responded in a rather meek voice "of course my T'hy'la. You can be so…very logical….when you want to. So very rational…at times."

She broke from his arms and went straight for the comm button.

"T'Pol to Phlox" she stated clearly to the speaker.

Phlox answered in a slightly groggy voice.

["Yes Commander, are you alright?"]

She responded in as close to a monotone as she could muster under the conditions.

"Commander Tucker has been injured, he requires immediate medical attention!"

Desperation began to break in her voice as she finished her statement.

["I understand Commander and I will be there shortly, Phlox out."]

"Hurry!" she screamed at the dead comm line. Then she turned her head abruptly at Trip's motions toward the guest room hatch.

"Where are you going T'hy'la!?"

Trip froze in a state of apprehension with his foot halfway through the hatchway. He turned back with a gentle smile aimed toward his now irrationally concerned woman.

"I thought while we waited for Phlox that it might be nice to meditate a little. I was just going to grab this big candle and lighter and come right back in here with you."

She relaxed a bit but then gave him a discerning expression. Her look was one of subtle suspicion of his motives, but she allowed him to step through and retrieve the implements. As he returned with the items to the dining area he had to pass close to her. She had moved into the hatchway to observe his movements. As he passed her she gave no space as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose, clearly enjoying his…presence.

 _"I thought I stunk to her?"_

She leveled her eyes at him as he passed and cracked a slight smile in a conspiratorial manner. Trip could hear her voice in his head say _"if only you knew just how good you 'stink', my_ ashal _"_.

Suppressing his curiosity at that statement, he quickly placed the candle on the table in the middle of the mostly empty food dishes and light it.

He turned to her and asked, "sweetie pie, why don't you come sit here with me?"

He pulled the chair out for her and extended his hand to her. She could not resist the physical contact, so alien to a Vulcan's usual daily life. He took her hand and gently placed her in the chair before the flickering flame. When he went toward the light switch to dim the room so she would focus on that flame, she jerked him back by the hand she had yet to release.

Looking up at him in a seductive way she asked "sweetie pie?"

Trip cleared his throat "another term of endearment."

"I see, and I also realize just how much you enjoy your pies, sweetie," she said to him with burning desire.

He could feel her swelling passion begin yet again. Then to his surprise, she reached into the apple pie with her free hand and pulled out a warm glob of it.

 _"I'm in trouble now"_ was all Trip could think as she brought the sticky and sweet mess toward her mouth slowly, never breaking eye contact with him. She then tilted her head back and smeared the pie into and over her mouth, slowly rubbing the leftovers down her long, elegant neck and the open front of her jumpsuit. As she finished her mouthful she smiled with lust at Trip.

"Would you like some more pie too, T'hy'la?"

She took his head in her hands and brought him all too willingly to her mouth. This time it was his desire that ignited their "fire". He followed the trail of the pie remains downward to her neck, his mouth searching out each piece and encouraged onward with her increasing pleasure at the sensations he caused. As he reached the opening of the top of her uniform, with his mouth he lustily buried his head in her cleavage and lifted her willing form up into his arms. She wrapped her arms and legs around his torso as he began to get that wonderful, swimming feeling again. He could hear her laugh with playful lust as he tickled her with his desirous oral explorations of her skin.

 _"She can laugh too!"_ he thought as he finally was willing to accept this perfect and wonderful gift. Then deep in his mind, he heard her reply.

 _"My_ ashal _T'hy'la, I laugh because in am satisfied with your love. I laugh because my_ katra _and yours will be united, forever!"_

He had the zipper on the back of her oh so very special duty uniform down to just above her beautiful lower back when he heard a loud and intentional throat clearing from behind him.

He pulled his head from her chest to see Phlox standing in the doorway, a medkit in one hand and a large floor fan in the other. He smiled as big as was appropriate considering the intimate situation he had walked in on.

"Sorry to intrude but I was told my presence was required."

With that Trip once again was in the moment.

"Oh…yeah….had a little accident."

He slowly lowered T'pol into a chair but she briefly resisted letting go, her angry eyes focused on the intruder.

He turned toward her momentarily and said "why don't you let the Doctor take a quick look at me while you focus on this here candle."

She turned toward the candle then, sweat starting to bead on her skin. As if by instinct she turned toward it fully and placed her hands together to form a slight triangular form. She brought the tips of her fingers to her lips and focused in on the candle with intensity. She seemed momentarily surprised when she tasted apple pie on her fingertips.

Not fully understanding the sudden change in her behavior, Trip turned back to the Doctor who already had a scanner out and was passing it just behind her. Trip was silent as Phlox finished with a slightly bewildered look on his face. He turned to Trip to answer his unspoken question.

"I had not anticipated this potential outcome."

Trip cocked an inquisitive look and asked "the 'treatment' started early, didn't it?"

Phlox just shook his head again "I'm afraid my treatment has not started early. The microbes are still in their time released microcapsules, which are still degrading at the proper rate to start an artificial mating cycle in about three days."

"Then what is….this? What's going on?" Trip asked in obvious confused concern.

Phlox eyes widened at the realization that T'Pol had not gotten around to explaining the situation fully yet.

"She hasn't explained what's about to happen yet?"

T'Pol shifted in her seat slightly to cast an angry eyebrow at the Doctor before replying "I was about to when this….change, occurred. If this isn't your 'treatment' then why does it feel like it?"

Sympathy stretched the Doctor's features as he prepared himself to give the explanation.

"Commander, it would appear that you have already entered a natural Pon Farr."

"WHAT?" She almost screamed at him over the tops of the points of her fingers.

"I was hoping to give you both a few days to relax and rebuild your strength but your natural biochemistry disagrees with me. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Considering the circumstances of recent events it was almost inevitable to occur naturally. The loss of a child combined with the separation from her bond mate and the child's father, followed by a relatively sudden and unexpected reunion with the said bond mate. It was practically a recipe for spontaneous Pon Farr."

A sarcastic snarl crossed T'Pol's face "so, your 'treatment' is unneeded? Apply the microbe removal treatment immediately."

Phlox nodded and took a hypo spray from his pocket. T'Pol's eyes never left it as the Doctor applied it to her neck. As soon as he pulled back she squinted harshly at him.

"Now, get out!"

The Doctor appeared both stunned and hurt by her reaction, but then began to try to calm his angry patient.

"Commander, you need sleep, both of you. After a good, long and relaxing sleep you and Commander Tucker can begin, but until then…"

She jumped up on both feet and hurled an empty plate against the far bulkhead, the shattered pieces spraying back with the reactive force from the initial impact.

"I will wait no longer! Get out!" She turned her eyes toward Trip and purred with a smile "Mr. Tucker has much work to do."

Trip came up to her and took her in his arms. Smiling down on her he locked his lips with hers. Over his shoulder he looked at Phlox with a conspiratorial eye, casting it down toward the back of his love's exposed neck. Getting the gist of the Commander's intent, Phlox pulled out another hypospray and quickly released its contents into her jugular. She moved as if to confront him while never breaking lips with Trip. Then her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she slumped into Trip's arms.

Phlox looked at her limp form as he said to Trip "under normal circumstances she would have reacted much quicker. She probably would have broken my arm before I got within a half meter of her."

"Give me a hand here Phlox, she's heavier then she looks!"

Phlox reached down and placed his arm under hers as he and Trip pulled her into the guest room and finally laid her down on Hoshi's scarlet silk sheets.

Phlox pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed gently. "I must apologize Commander, under normal circumstances neither I nor Captain Archer would ever interfere in yours or the Commander's….."

"It's alright Phlox, in fact, I want to thank you."

Phlox was perplexed. "Thank me, for endangering your wife's…the Commander's life?"

Trip shook his head as he looked down on the now angelic features of the woman he loved.

"Way I see it Doc, she and I were the ones who were so stubborn and pigheaded that we allowed this to happen to us."

He waved his hand up and down to indicate his greatly reduced physical form.

"You and Jon did what you thought was right and deep down inside, it's what she and I both really wanted anyway. Maybe not this way and under these circumstances, but we created these circumstances so we have no one but ourselves to blame for them."

Phlox gave him a slight smile back.

"Well I'm glad Trip, if I had thought…..she and you…you're my friends and I would never want to do anything…."

Trip put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"You're a good friend Phlox. I know when she gets back to normal she'll feel the same as I do about all this. Or close enough to make no difference."

Phlox sighed with relief but also concern.

"I hope you're right about that! Well, I had better go over the basics of the Pon Farr with you before your sleep medication takes effect."

Trip sat at the desk chair and looked back toward Phlox.

"Speaking of meds, she's had five hyposprays to the neck in less than an hour. None of that stuff is going to mess her up further or mix badly with each other?"

Phlox shook his head.

"No the microbe treatment is designed to get rid of the microbes. The appetite stimulant has had its effect and is short lasting so it should have run its course already. Considering her increased metabolic rate the delayed sleep medication most likely would have little effect and the current sleep medication will keep her out for the better part of the day."

Trip took a glass of water from the desk and offered one to Phlox. Phlox held up his hand to say no thanks.

The Doctor asked, "Commander, what do you know about the Pon Farr, if anything?"

Trip looked at his glass in contemplation and began.

"It's the equivalent of Vulcan marriage. It's legally binding, on Vulcan. Our mental bond will be strengthened and intensified. She will be erratic and emotional for the duration of it. We will engage in….well, you know, several times. We will be bonded for life, well, at least the remainder of my life."

Phlox gave him another sympathetic smile. Despite being near twice his age, T'Pol most likely would outlive Trip by decades if not an entire century. Phlox could clearly see that the idea of leaving her on her own was weighing heavily on his mind at that moment. T'Pol, who had been laying in perfect stillness since they dropped her on the bed, suddenly began to murmur and move in an agitated fashion. Phlox heard that unusual word he had heard them both speak earlier slip from her sleeping form.

"T'hy'la…no T'hy'la…don't leave me."

Trip had a look of sudden revelation and immediately changed the topic back.

"So that's what I know Doc."

Phlox nodded with understanding.

"That's a lot of information considering that T'Pol said she didn't get the chance to explain to you."

It was a statement from the Doctor but Trip also realized it was a question as well.

"We don't always have to speak to each other to communicate. We…sometimes…..can speak through the bond."

Phlox grin exceeded the limits of any Human face.

"Amazing, I guess that should be no surprise considering that you have already demonstrated the ability to communicate across light years."

Trip smiled back awkwardly. Phlox continued "were you just now transmitting your concerns to her or she to you?"

"That was mine, but I sometimes I feel hers too, of course, hers are usually not so emotionally strong, till this morning anyway."

Phlox wanted to make sure that he gave Trip all the information he would need that Phlox had to give, even if Trip already knew more than he probably did himself.

"By the time she wakes up what limited control she did have this morning will be gone. She will have only one concern and it will be your duty at that point to satisfy that concern."

Phlox reached for his med kit and took out an applicator and an analgesic cream and began to apply it to Trip's back wounds.

Trip winced at the sensation as Phlox continued.

"She will talk little but what she says will be erratic at best. Her moods will swing violently and I would be remiss in my duty if I didn't remind you that even Vulcan females are more than twice the strength of Human males. It is best to do as she says and to avoid arguing at all costs. She will cry and writhe in great misery and grief one minute and then laugh and play the next. Yet the overriding concern of this time for her will be mating. You should expect no less than five times a day and maybe upwards of eight."

Trip turned to Phlox then with shock across his face.

"Look Doc, it's not like I wouldn't want to be able to do….all that for her; but five would be pushing it for me."

Phlox gave a knowing smile.

"Five times in a day would have been a lot for me as a teenager."

Trip's eyes widened at this revelation from his physician but Phlox didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I included a few things you'll find useful in the med kit. I labeled the different hypo spray vials according to their contents' uses. Don't take the Triox more than four times a day or two within three hours of each other or you will deaden its effects on you. The other vials contain Hyposildenafil. That will help with your stamina in mating. Don't take that more than twice a day or more than once every eight hours. Then, of course, there's the salve I included. You may experience chafing, so may she. Applying it liberally on yourself, where needed, between every coupling will reduce the chaffing effect for you and her while not deadening the sensation for either."

Phlox stood to leave just as Trip let out a blearily eyed yawn.

"Phlox, I appreciate the help but five a days will still be difficult to achieve."

With that impossible grin of his Phlox reassured his friend.

"I have heard that the betrothal bond allows both mates to respond to each other in kind during the Pon Farr. I would not be surprised if you exceeded your own expectations and a….rose to the challenge, as they say. Have you experienced any similar symptoms to Pon Farr yet yourself?"

Trip nodded "it's been difficult to NOT respond. It's like being drunk without most of the negative side effects."

"You and she have a unique bond, stronger, it would seem, than the typical Vulcan couples' marriage bond; from my limited knowledge of the subject. It seems that despite your Human heritage it is indeed possible to transmit the Pon Farr symptoms to you in part or whole."

Trip looked back confused and said, "Doc, I have been having trouble maintaining my composure; but it's nowhere near as bad as what she's experiencing."

The Doctor thought for a minute and then went to hook up the floor fan he brought with him up to the EPS outlet converter. When he turned back around he gave Trip his theory on the topic of the question.

"I'm sure there are a couple of factors involved. First, you're Human and you probably would not go into a full-blown Pon Farr anyway. Second, unlike the Commander, you have an entire lifetime of dealing with and controlling your emotions while also learning to embrace them. You simply are better equipped to deal with the emotions the Pon Farr brings forth than she is."

Trip smiled a proud grin after another yawn.

"Well, it's about time I was good at something other than fixing engines and screwing up relationships."

Phlox smiled and gently shook his head.

"Mr. Tucker, you will have a hard time ever screwing up this relationship long term and it will be the last such relationship you will ever need."

Trip nodded in understanding.

"I'm sure you're right Doc. Say, um, what's with the fan?"

Phlox looked back over his shoulder at the device.

"Oh yes, well as you know Vulcan is a bit warmer than Earth so to make the Commander as comfortable as possible you should keep the rooms down here three degrees above standard. The fan is for you, it shouldn't bother her much or change the actual room temperature but it will let you have some relief."

"Well thanks, Phlox, I appreciate that." Trip responded.

"Now" Phlox began as he headed for the door. "As the one more in control of himself, you MUST make her eat and make yourself as well. Also, there are electrolyte drinks in the cooler and plenty of water here in the rooms. You must drink constantly at all times, so should she, dehydration will solve nothing. I can't stress enough how much you both need nutrients, especially now!"

Trip nodded as Phlox continued.

"These rooms are guest rooms thus they came equipped with "Do Not Disturb" lights on the door open pads against the outside bulkheads into the hallway, and between the rooms through the dining area. I know it won't be the first thing on your mind but she should avoid contact with everyone, including me, so try to remember to turn the "Do Not Disturb" light on so that we can bring supplies and food for you into the dining room or unused guest quarters as needed."

"I will, I suspect I'll need them." Trip replied.

"Finally, I will try to come back and wake you before she wakes so that you can get a quick bite of food and I can check the progress of the microbe removal from her system. We wouldn't want five to seven days to stretch out to ten or twelve, especially in your conditions. Make sure you sleep in the bed with her. That will help keep her asleep longer. Plus you wouldn't want to have to explain to a maintenance crew how both dining room hatches were destroyed by a libidinous Vulcan First Officer on a manhunt for the Chief Engineer."

Trip looked back at him wide-eyed.

"No, I wouldn't want to have to do that."

Phlox smiled widely.

"Also, make sure you are both naked before you get in the bed. I will go get you a new uniform top from your quarters before this is over, but I'd rather not have to retrieve the Commander's laundry. I imagine that would lead to uncomfortable questions. There are bathrobes in both quarters bathrooms for you to wear."

Trip nodded past another yawn and the Doctor knew it was time to go. He pressed the open button to the hatch out into the hallway and turned back for a few final words.

"Only the Captain, myself, or those we designate can access this deck so you have the run of the place. If it becomes necessary to send someone else I will inform you over the comm."

Trip gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Let's make sure those other people are limited to Hoshi and Elizabeth. There are already enough people involved."

Phlox looked a bit embarrassed and sheepish as he responded.

"It would have been impossible for us to achieve this without their assistance. Jon and I didn't say too much to them about what was going on, but they are both very smart women and I got the impression that Hoshi already knew quite a bit anyway. Both, of course, will be discrete."

Trip nodded vigorously in agreement.

"I trust both of them and so does she, no worries about that. We just don't want this spreading further."

"Of course" the doctor responded. "Remember Commander, eat, drink, medicate; eat, drink, medicate. I can't stress that enough for both of you."

"I'm all over it Doc, I'm so hungry I could eat again already!" Trip said as he yawned yet again.

"Off to bed with you" Phlox grinned as he stepped through the hatchway. "And Commander….Trip…congratulations! I know no finer person for you then T'Pol. I truly believe that the two of you were made for each other. You're about to have a sensation filled adventure and it will not end with the Pon Farr. Take it from someone with three wives. You are going on the greatest journey any man can ever take, next to fatherhood."

"Thanks Phlox, for everything, especially for getting her to give me neuropressure in the Expanse. We wouldn't be here now if not for your…..'prescription'."

Phlox grinned from ear to ear, literally.

"Why Commander, I have no idea what you mean."

He turned up the hallway toward the turbolift and called out behind himself to Trip "someone had to get you two stubborn Tellerites together before your arguing ripped a hole in a bulkhead."

Trip smiled as he let the hatch slide close behind him. Then he looked toward the far end of the room and saw his heart's desire breathing soft and deeply on top of those scarlet silk sheets.

He felt that his heart would burst with love for that deceptively small and docile form that hid one of the most formidable people he had ever came across.

"You would give Momma a run for her money on being stubborn." He said softly to the room.

She stirred gently and whispered softly in her sleep "ko-mehk."

Even now she was with him in the bond. He felt his body begin to fail him and removed what remained of his clothing, the last parts of his uniform still in one piece that is. He went up to her sleeping form as she became more restless, apparently aware the object of her desires was nearer. He reached down and removed her boots as she purred gently at finally having his touch again. He then moved near her top and reached under her back to finish removing her one-piece uniform. He decided to leave her undershirt on but once he got her uniform off her legs, he also decided to leave her underwear in place.

She, to his surprise, sat up bleary-eyed and rather forcefully removed her own undershirt and underwear. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with intense passion. Their bond was alive yet again as she pulled him down into the bed. He was ready now if she was willing, but as quickly as she woke she was asleep again. He smiled at her perfect features as she purred in slumber.

As he pulled the sheet over them both she locked her arms around him tightly as if by instinct and buried her head in his neck, kissing the base of his neck even as she slept. He wrapped his arms over hers and slid his upper left leg comfortably between hers as she lifted her top leg high up on his hip in response.

Within seconds he too was asleep. A sleep that he almost wished he would never wake from. In the instant dream that was the white space they now shared between their minds he heard her call to him.

"T'hy'la, I am here for you, now and always."

As he turned toward the sound of her presence he was once again in his childhood home's backyard. The magnolia blossoms scented the air and the Spanish Moss danced over the top of the blue lake waters. There she was, in the sundress and smiling at him. She came to him gently and threw her arms around his neck. Their kiss was just as wonderful as the first time in her quarters and every time since. Without breaking their hold or kiss, words danced in his mind as his soul danced with her katra.

"My sa-telus, my husband, my Human, I will always be here with you, now and forever. We will never be alone and separate again. We will be one now and forever, always."

His mind responded to her.

"I was always yours. From the moment we first met. I will never be complete without you again."

"T'Pol, my tal-kam ashal"

"Yes my tal-kam T'hy'la?"

"I love you"

"I love you as well, Trip."


	4. Chapter 4

Malcolm Reed loved the center chair. Somehow just sitting in the command chair made his everyday existence that much better. He had always fancied himself one day being in command of his own starship. That idea had been part of what had propelled him to break with generations of family tradition and join Starfleet instead of the Royal Navy.

 _"Doesn't look like they'll be much sea fighting on Earth ever again. One never knows but the real action will be in space from now on and that's why I'm here."_ He thought with self-satisfaction.

Today was a special day for Malcolm. It was rare for him to take the big chair for more than a few minutes or an hour or two at a time. Since coming on duty at zero-seven-hundred he had the honor of being the Officer of the Watch. He hated that both T'pol and Trip had to be incapacitated for him to get such lengthy command time but he had gladly taken it.

What had really surprised him was how mundane being in command for most of a day was.

As Chief Tactical and Security Officer he had a well-regimented routine. He would wake at zero four forty-five hours and read the gamma shift reports. He would spend the next two hours before Bridge duty checking on the gamma shift and the systems in the Armory for anything unusual. Then he would finish his pre-shift inspection duty by visiting all of Enterprise's twelve phase cannons and ensuring their proper function. Once on the Bridge, he would read the final reports from the gamma shift and then issue maintenance and training exercises for the ship's tactical and security personnel. He would calibrate and test all of Enterprise's weapons and defense systems at least four times each shift while reading alpha shift hourly reports and using the long-range scanners to keep track of any potential threats to the vessel. When the alpha shift was over he was back in the Armory looking over the transition to beta shift and rechecking all tactical systems in person. Then it was on to ground operations training with the assault teams followed by teaching self-defense classes to the rest of the crew personnel and then vigorous exercise, followed by a complete inspection of all of Enterprise's handheld weapons, a visit to visually inspect all hull polarization generators and then to his quarters to curl up with the beta shift reports before issuing his final orders for the day electronically.

 _"Few officers could claim to meet my standards of proficiency in my work"_ , he thought rather proudly.

Sitting in the center chair for most of a duty shift had proven rather boring for him. Reading tactical reports was interesting to Malcolm. Reading stellar cartography reports, engineering systems updates, routine subspace transmissions from Starfleet Command and other such minutia wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he dreamed of commanding a starship.

 _"Well, no wonder the Captain spends large parts of his day in his ready room. Who would want to sit here reading reports and staring at the viewscreen all day"_ he thought wistfully.

Ensign Hoshi Sato did her best not to pay the contemplative Lieutenant too much attention. She could tell that he was bored and honestly so was she. She had finished the last language analysis for the Krisanti two days ago and they were still several days away from their next destination, Bolarus.

 _"At least then I'll have something to do, poor Malcolm."_

The ECA reports that she had read on the Bolian languages indicated that there were over 30 separate language groups and literally thousands of dialects. She was excited by the prospect and had already finished analyzing the primary languages. She was confident that the Universal Translator was also programmed properly for Bolian, after all, that's all she had been working on now for two days straight.

She cast another glance at the rather dashing Tactical Officer. She couldn't explain when or where or even why it had happened, but somehow over the last year her feelings of friendship and respect for Malcolm had morphed into something…more. He was quite handsome after all and she loved his very proper English accent. Language was always close to her heart. Malcolm wasn't what one would call expressive or even approachable, at least until you got to know the prim and proper Brit. She always found it interesting that Malcolm and Trip had become such good friends considering their almost polar opposite personalities. Then again, Trip's personality allowed him to collect friends everywhere and the fact that the one person on the ship that makes Malcolm seem gregarious was now secretly married to Trip was all the proof Hoshi needed of the Commander's appeal across wide spectrums.

Since adding her small part to solving the latest T&T problem earlier in the morning, as the Commanders had become popularly known as a unit on the ship; her otherwise unoccupied mind had drifted more and more toward thoughts of love and the possibilities if she or he ever made a move for more than friendship. After all, if Trip and T'pol could make it work surely she could work something out with Malcolm.

 _"Of course for that to happen he would have to notice me first."_

Just then she heard him speak to her.

"Ensign, are you alright?"

She locked eyes with him with a startle as she realized she had drifted off to daydream land without removing her eyes from him.

"Yes…Lieutenant, sorry…..I didn't get a good night's sleep last night and….."

"No need to apologize Ensign", he said over a yawn.

"Not much going on today to keep one awake."

Hoshi nodded and turned back to her console to look for something to do. As she did she noticed Travis, whose back was toward Malcolm, grinning profusely at her discomfort. She felt her checks finally flush a bit as she shot him a "keep your mouth shut" look. He cut his eyes to meet that gaze and visibly had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from laughing. She hadn't ever told Travis about her feelings toward Malcolm, but being such a good friend and a naturally observant person, he had guessed it with little effort.

Just then the turbolift door slid open and out stepped the Captain, looking quite rested and satisfied with life.

Malcolm was already on his feet to make way for his commanding officer. With practiced military decorum Malcolm atoned "Captain on the Bridge!"

Ensign Kirchhoff was already sliding out of Malcolm's usual seat at the tactical station when the Captain responded.

"As you were Mr. Reed. I'm afraid my temporary incapacitation at our Doctor's insistence has most likely put me far behind on my paperwork and communications with Starfleet. I'll have to tidy that mess up first so I'll be in the ready room. You have the Bridge."

As he moved toward the hatchway to his ready room Malcolm had a question for him.

"Sir, I noticed in the morning reports that Doctor Phlox hadn't updated the Commanders' conditions. Is there any word on how they are doing?"

As Jon scanned the other faces on the Bridge all but Hoshi appeared to be focused on him for an answer. Hoshi, being somewhat knowledgeable as to their present condition merely gave her Captain a slight smile of mutual understanding.

"Last I heard, the Doctor had sedated and quarantined them on G Deck. He said he used a powerful sedative and I'm sure he set up the medical scanners down there to keep track of them. Most likely there is nothing new to report and I doubt he would purposefully wake them up. I'm sure there will be an update after they awaken. Phlox doesn't believe they are in any immediate danger and G Deck was designed to serve as an emergency quarantine zone, so the rest of us shouldn't catch this virus. I'll make sure the Doctor posts their progress for the crew. I know you're all concerned."

As Malcolm breathe a slight sigh of relief Hoshi shot the Captain her knowing smile again.

"That's good to hear Sir" Malcolm replied.

Jon nodded to him and proceeded to his ready room.

As he entered his office and the hatch closed behind him he let out a small sigh of relief himself. Jon didn't like lying to the crew but this was one of those occasions where it was necessary and prudent to do so. The question crossed his mind of exactly what T'pol would ever say if she were asked about it later. Vulcans don't lie but Jon had seen her find incredible ways to tell the truth without revealing the real truth behind it.

He placed his coffee cup on the desk and slide into the chair. Of course, the message indicator on his display terminal was flashing. An indication of a long paperwork filled afternoon. He activated the display and began browsing through the reports from the ship's various departments. Nothing in particular looked out of the ordinary, so Jon soon moved to communiqués from Starfleet. Subspace transceivers had been placed out here by the ECA several years before, but Enterprise was currently reinforcing that network by deploying the latest transceivers as she went along. The gamma shift dropped the latest one sometime in the early morning and at least for the next day or two, at their current speed, communications with Earth would be in real time or near enough to it.

The first thing that caught his eye was the latest news report from the United Earth Republic's capital in Geneva. It stated that the defense budget had passed Parliament at over double the expenditure figure from the year before. The publicly announced part of the bill stated that the sol system's defensive weapons orbital platforms and ground-based systems would receive upgraded and more powerful equipment across the board. That decision was undoubtedly helped along by the events of recent months and Terra Prime's relative ease at gaining control of the Verteron Array on Mars.

Funding for the first three of the new "Nation" Class "cruisers" had been appropriated, construction on the first vessel to begin in three months. Jon smiled benignly at the screen, knowing that the first two Nation Class ships, United States and China, were both secretly funded in the two previous budgets' Secret Discretionary Fund and already well under construction.

Jon was not a fan of the concept of these so-called "cruisers". Everyone in Starfleet already called them battleships. They were only slightly larger than the NX Class and had the same Warp five engine. The problem with the concept was that with its increased mass of armor plate and especially with its armored warp nacelles, the best a Nation Class could do was Warp four point eight. That would make them the second fastest ships in the fleet, but it was a backward step as far as Jon, and his Chief Engineer were concerned. It was true that the open coil design of Enterprise's nacelles had been an Achilles heel in combat; but the speed and maneuverability advantage, in skilled hands such a Travis's, more than made up for that.

All Jon could see were valuable resources that could be better used to expand the NX Class wasted on an inferior product.

Then to Jon's surprise, the next thing he read was that a second flight of six NX Class vessels had also been authorized, bringing the class up to twelve ships. Reading the comments of the lawmakers he was almost floored to see that the chairman of the Parliament's Defense Committee was quoted as saying he didn't think the budget had gone far enough and that he planned to introduce a bill early in the next session to build a third flight of NX's to twelve additional vessels!

 _"Wow, Raquel had said that the political environment had shifted toward Starfleet's favor but this is almost too good to be true"_ , he thought to himself.

Admiral Raquel M'benga was convinced the Xindi Attack and Enterprise's successful resolution of it, plus the subsequent year in which Enterprise played a key role in resolving several interstellar issues and helping to form the Coalition of Planets; had gone a long way in convincing the politicians of the NX Class's value.

He wondered what was in the secret parts of the budget that he didn't know about, he couldn't even fathom it.

The next thing that caught his attention was a news report stating that Terra Prime terrorist leader and former Lunar mining consortium chairman John Fredrick Paxton's trial was scheduled to begin in six months at The Hague. He was being charged with over fifty-seven felony counts including two first degree murder, one malicious manslaughter, two kidnapping, conspiracy to commit treason and many others.

Enterprise personnel, who probably wouldn't be in system for most if not all of the trial, had already given depositions to Starfleet Security; but now that the prosecution team was forming several of them may have to give additional depositions. Jon hoped for T'pol and Trip's sake that this trial would be speedy and that Paxton would be buried under the jail. Malicious manslaughter and kidnapping barely covered the true crimes the Terra Primers and Paxton committed against them and their unexpected child. He was not the least surprised to see that Ambassador Soval had insisted that one of the Vulcan Embassy's legal councils be included on the prosecution team to represent T'pol's interests.

Nothing else caught his eye so he moved on to writing his daily progress reports for Starfleet. Twenty minutes into that seemingly interminable task had past when Hoshi's voice came over the comm.

["Captain, we have a priority three communication for you from Starfleet Command. It's Admiral M'benga, Sir."]

"Thank you Hoshi, put it to my console."

When he saw the indicator flash Jon activated the link.

["Hello Jonathan, how's the Bassen Rift today?"]

The Admiral's smiling face reminded him of a slightly more mature version of Lieutenant Hess. She had short cropped hair and large, dark eyes and a smile that would light up a room. One of Starfleet's more popular flag officers, at least among lower-ranking personnel, she had the reputation of being an advocate for exploration.

Since Admiral Forrest's death in the Earth Embassy Bombing on Vulcan, Jon had been worried about which old fart would get assigned to the late Admiral's post. Maxwell Forrest had been involved intimately with the entire NX project since its inception. He had even worked with Jon's dad in his younger days. There had been no greater advocate within Starfleet Command for the Warp 5 Project and his loss was not only the loss of a good friend but a great leader.

To say that he was pleasantly surprised when Raquel M'benga was promoted to the post of Chief of the Exploration Directorate would have been an understatement. No one in Starfleet was more qualified to replace Maxwell Forrest then she was. Jon had served as Navigation Officer aboard the same Ganges Class ship she was First Officer on for two years before he transferred as a test pilot to the NX Project. They had always gotten along well. She was also an enthusiastic supporter of the NX Project, having served as Admiral Forrest's assistant before taking command of a Neptune Class ship. When the normal dolts at Command elevated her to Maxwell's job post they had finally got something right.

 _"Somewhere Maxwell Forrest was smiling"_ crossed Jon's mind.

"I am happy to report that space dust is minimal."

["That much fun Jonathan?"]

"Afraid so Admiral, we're still a few days away from Bolarus IX. They have already sent several useful cultural files about themselves to us; the ECA also sent what they had. We'll be using the good offices of the ECA representative on Bolarus to help with the official introductions. Until we get there we'll drop subspace transponders and police the space dust along the way."

She shook her head at him slightly.

["now Jonathan, exploration and first contact are what you signed up for. I thought you'd be happy not having to save the Human race or prevent an interstellar war for a change?"]

"Of course I am, it's just these long walks from one trading partner world to the other can get a bit tiresome. Speaking of which, why are we out here? The ECA seems to have this area well in Earth's economic sphere."

She twisted up the side of her lips and responded.

["Now that you're out there I won't keep you in the dark anymore. There's a lot of chatter coming from multiple sources, the ECA ships out there, our new contacts within the Xindi Primates and Arboreals, criminal elements that deal with the Orion Syndicate, and several other less than reliable sources that seem to indicate increased Romulan activity along their side of the former Delphic Expanse and the Bassen Rift."]

Jon sighed heavily "I thought as much. They just don't quit do they?"

["No"] she replied with a frown.

["It looks as if they don't. This increased activity would seem to indicate multiple Romulan ships operating over that entire region of space. With their cloaking technology they very well could be operating inside of those areas as we speak. We have already consulted with the Vulcan Defense Ministry and their Strategic Studies Institute and they agree with our assessment. Looks like the opening of the Delphic Expanse was too tempting for them. We believe that sometime in the next few months they will make an incursion into the Expanse and then onto the Bassen Rift worlds."]

It wasn't entirely unexpected news. If the Romulans were willing to interfere so far from their assumed home territory as to try to start a war between Andoria and Tellar, and to prevent the formation of the Coalition of Planets, then surely they would want to annex nearby territory that had finally become accessible to them.

Jon asked "So that's why you want to get embassies on these worlds now? So that we can establish a presence here as a detriment to them invading?"

The Admiral answered ["Yes, we're hoping Enterprise's presence in the Rift will, if not discourage the incursion, then at least give us and our friends in the Rift the time needed to prepare."]

Jon had a puzzled look on his face. "Admiral, if one or more of the worlds in the Rift decide to join the Coalition than Earth would be obligated to come into the conflict on their side if the Romulans attack them, it could mean war."

She replied ["We hope that by getting in there before the Romulans do that they won't even try it. It's one thing to attack semi-defenseless worlds; it would be another to attack the Coalition."]

Jon was not convinced.

"If they call our bluff, the coalition is in no position to back up its bluster. The Vulcans are still in political upheaval and I doubt that they would go to war. Andoria and Tellar most likely would follow their example as would the others. I know Earth alone can't back it up and forcing the others to make such a decision might fracture or even end the Coalition. Giving the Romulans exactly what they wanted."

The Admiral sighed heavily.

["Jonathan, Starfleet Command and Earth Gov. are well aware that we cannot afford to allow the Coalition to fracture, but we also cannot afford to allow these worlds to fall into Romulan hands uncontested. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. Getting Enterprise out into the Rift to let those worlds know we're there, and also let the Romulans know we're there too is about the only thing we can do at the moment. It's a bluff that we simply have to hope the Romulans fall for."]

Jon just gently shook his head before replying.

"We've dealt with the Romulans twice now Admiral. I get the impression that they don't play poker and aren't willing to learn it from us. If there are as many detected Romulan vessels along their border as you believe, then there are three times that many waiting to invade. It's only a question of when."

["I wish I could disagree with you Jonathan, but everything so far seems to indicate that you are correct. Let's just hope they hold off long enough for us to get ready for them."]

Jon grimaced at that.

"So you think this is just a first step in a larger strategic move on their part?"

She nodded back.

["Our Vulcan friends are convinced that at the very least the Romulans are attempting to undermine if not break the Coalition. If they take the entire Expanse and Rift they will be in a strong position to attack the least technologically advanced members of the Coalition, in particular, Human colonies. If they can fracture the Coalition and conquer Earth territory, they can separate and attack Andoria, Tellar and eventually Vulcan in piecemeal fashion."]

Jon was confused again.

"Surely the Xindi just won't roll over and surrender the Expanse without a fight?"

["I'm afraid the Xindi are in no position to fight a Romulan invasion of the former Expanse territories and they may not even have to. It took you months to even find one Xindi after Enterprise had entered the Expanse. The Romulans could conquer over half of the territory in there and never once trespass against Xindi territory. Add to that the fact that the Xindi have been at the brink of civil war since the end of the crisis, it's doubtful they would take much notice of the Romulans. Plus our contacts with the Arboreals and Primates seem to think that the Reptilians and Insectoids are receiving aid from the Romulans."]

Jon just sank lower in his chair at the prospect of the Romulans having virtually nothing between themselves and Earth territory but open space.

"Well", he began "at least the sudden change of heart in Parliament toward Starfleet and defense spending now makes more sense."

The Admiral nodded back.

["It's been improving since Enterprise first launched, but even now it's still not what it should be to meet the coming problems, but it is better than what it was. I can tell you that at least one thing in the secret part of the budget relates directly to Enterprise, other than its success at encouraging construction of more NX's."]

Jon brightened noticeably and blurted out his suspicion of what that could be.

"Potbelly's on?"

The Admiral smiled back mischievously.

["And moved forward! In fact, you can tell your Chief Engineer that Enterprise will be the first NX to receive the "Potbelly" modification as soon as the first module is ready in about six months."]

Jon beamed from ear to ear

"Raquel, I assume that you are telling me….."

["Jonathan, the prototype Warp six engine sustained Warp six point one two seven on the 23rd of February this year. Since then it has been tested on a daily basis without serious incident and has reached a maximum sustained velocity of Warp Factor six point two eight seven. That, of course, is why 'Potbelly', 'Long Legs', and 'Fat Ass' have both been moved forward. Of course, this information is on a need-to-know basis at this point, but considering the key role Commander Tucker played in the design and technical aspects of this achievement, Admiral Jefferies wanted him to be among the first to know outside of the test team and Starfleet Command."]

Jon couldn't stop smiling at that. Trip would piss himself with joy to know that the engine he helped design not only worked but was going into immediate service production. He would be in even more stupefied bliss once he found out Enterprise was getting the first production module. Jon could just imagine Trip buried neck deep in PADDs just spending hours on end planning the "Potbelly" modification to Enterprise. The only person whom Jon could think would be even happier and prouder than he or Trip would be Henry Archer.

 _"Dad, yours and Zephram Cochrane's dream is becoming reality. Humanity will soon be able to reach any star."_

"Now I have to sit on this for the rest of the week without telling Trip!"

The Admiral shot him a confused look and Jon began to explain.

"Trip and T'pol both contracted an alien virus and Phlox had to quarantine them."

The Admiral raised an eyebrow at that.

["I read Enterprise's morning reports before contacting you. Seems like your Denobulan Doctor has the situation well in hand. I would imagine that Trip would welcome the news to give him something to kill time within quarantine. I'm sure T'pol would also find it fascinating."]

Jon felt a bit of panic and had to come up with something plausible to get the Admiral off this train of thought.

"Phlox says that this virus responds to metabolic rate. He gave them both some strong sedatives and I doubt anything would make Trip's heart race more than learning about this!"

He thought absentmindedly "Well, I can think of ONE thing that would make, and maybe already was making, his heart race more than this!"

He finished "I imagine the Doctor will veto telling him this under his current condition."

M'benga just shook her head.

["Oh well, under the current circumstances we can't afford to have you drifting around out there while T&T is sidelined for even more recovery time."]

It was Jonathan's turn to look surprised. Knowing full well the Commanders' shipboard nickname was one thing. The fact that an Admiral at Starfleet Command knew it was quite another. He tried to play dumb.

"T&T?"

She gave him an incredulous look.

["Really Jonathan, did you think such a great nickname for your top two officers"….unique working partnership would simply not make it past the airlocks?"]

 _"How much does she, HOW MUCH DOES STARFLEET COMMAND, know about the Commanders" unique… 'working' relationship?"_

"Um, well, they do work well together" was all he could think to blurt out.

She returned that with a slight eyebrow raise and an almost wicked smile.

["Yes they do. Of course, Starfleet Command couldn't help but take notice of such a strong and effective partnership. The recent Terra Prime incident is casting even more eyes on your two top officers. Now they are both sick and quarantined together? It just seems those two are locked in orbit with each other. You can rest assured that I view such a good working relationship as a plus. I wouldn't want anything to get in the way of Enterprise's continued success; but, not everyone thinks the way I do. Perhaps in the future, if possible, we could try to keep T&T out of the spotlight a bit more?"]

Well, that answered how much she knew.

"Well Sir, It's not like I'm trying to shove them into the spotlight. They simply seem to find it by accident, neither really seeking it."

["Such things like this happen"] she said.

["With the Paxton Trial coming up it would be a good time to have T&T lay as low as possible. I believe I can manage it on this end. No one else seems interested enough just yet to make a fuss about this topic, but having them both come down sick at the same time and so shortly after the Terra Prime mess doesn't help. Perhaps Phlox should modify his daily reports to skip certain topics until they are resolved fully."]

"I'll discuss that topic with him Sir" he replied.

["Well"] she began again ["while we're talking about your crew its time you knew some pertinent information. As you know, with NX-03 Challenger about to commission and NX-04 Discovery nearing completion the NX Class will be double its current size soon. Considering how radically different the NX's are from the other starships, Starfleet is reluctant to transfer officers from the other classes onto NX's. First, we don't want to gut the crews of the older ships at a time of impending difficulties, few Starfleet personnel DON'T want to transfer to an NX. More than eight hundred transfer requests have been submitted for Challenger and Discovery. Enterprise and Columbia have almost equally long waiting lists for open spots and not too many of Erika's or your crews have moved off ship. Second, Starfleet is undergoing a major expansion on top of our recent absorption of the MACOs. There will be a fleet wide shortage of trained officers and NCO's, despite our best efforts at expanding recruitment and training. It's going to take time for supply to meet demand."]

Jon asked, "with an additional six NX's about to come down the pipe and twelve more proposed after that, how are you going to crew these ships and the Nation Class battlewagons without taking from the older classes?"

["Well Jonathan, I'm afraid high turnover is going to be a problem that you and Erika and eventually all the captains of the first NX's are going to have to learn to live with. You have quite possibly the finest and best-trained crew in the Starfleet. Your officers and NCO's have more combat experience than anyone else in the fleet. Soon my friend, many of your best will be poached out from under you. Some are already trying to take your officers from you and with such a high demand for them it's only a matter of time before I cannot protect Erika and you from the vultures."]

An angry expression crossed Jon's face as he blurted out "who is that son-of-a-bitch Vassili trying to take?"

The Admiral grinned back in a sympathetic manner.

["Captain Ostrovsky expressed interest in Lieutenants Reed and Hess."]

Jon was puzzled for a moment.

"Reed and Hess?"

["Yes Jonathan, Hess for Challenger's Chief Engineer position and Mr. Reed for First Officer."]

"But those are Commander ranked positions, neither are Commanders yet" he protested.

["Yes, which is perhaps the only reason I was able to turn his requests down. Had I received your request for promotions for Reed, Mayweather, and Sato a week earlier it is most likely Mr. Reed would not have made this trip with you. Speaking of soon to be Lieutenants Mayweather and Sato, Commodore Blackwell has been expressing interest in both."]

Another look of shock hit Jon's visage.

"What in the world does the head of the Officer Candidate School want with them?"

["What else would he want with them? He wants them both for instructors. Jonathan, Hoshi Sato was already Starfleet's top Exolinguistics expert before Enterprise even left space dock. She has only added to her list of accomplishments since, and Mayweather is most likely Starfleet's foremost starship pilot-navigator. It's getting to the point in both their careers when it makes little strategic sense to risk jeopardizing them in the field. Blackwell wants them to teach Starfleet's future pilots and communications specialists. Like Reed and Hess, It's only a matter of time for you to keep them."]

She could tell by looking at him that this was a ton of bricks landing on him, but she had more to say.

["You, of course, realize Vassili wasn't our first choice for command of Challenger?"]

Jon snapped out of his brooding for a moment.

"No, I was unaware, who was the first choice?"

["You mean she didn't tell you?"] M'benga asked with some trepidation.

Sudden clarity came to Jon.

"T'POL! You offered command of Challenger to T'pol?"

M'benga nodded ["Of course, five months ago she still had more NX Class command experience then Erika. She undoubtedly still has more combat experience."]

Jon was bewildered once again.

"She turned it down?"

["Like I turn down Haggis."] M'benga joked.

["She went so far as to say, and mind you this was several months before the whole Terra Prime garbage, that she did not feel it was in Starfleet's, Earth's, Vulcan's or her own personal self-interests to place Starfleet's only non-human line officer in command of its newest and most advanced starship. She said that she felt many elements in both societies would react negatively toward the decision and that she could best serve all concerned interests by remaining Enterprise's Science Officer. She said if she came to another conclusion later that she would inform us of her availability at that time. Can you believe that?"]

Jon nodded slightly.

"Actually that does sound like her type of reasoning, and she was subsequently proven right by those Terra Prime bastards."

["Well, once she was off the list Vassili was next and he jumped at the chance"] then she continued ["but had he turned us down we would have had to ask the third candidate."]

She let that sink into Jon's mind. When it had his eyes expanded in his head.

"TRIP! The third candidate for Challenger was Trip?"

Sympathy spread to her subordinate across the light years that separated them.

["Commander Tucker has commanded Enterprise during several tense situations that saw both you and T'pol otherwise occupied. Not the least of which was the recent potential conflict between Andoria and Vulcan. Both Ambassador Soval and Commander Shran said that Tucker's actions were critical to the peaceful resolution of the situation. Jonathan, even if Trip turns down command of Discovery, which will be offered to him once Enterprise returns from this mission, he still may not stay long. Admiral Jefferies considers the Warp six Project the crowning achievement of his career and may soon retire. He has mentioned the Warp six engine's principal designer and theorist as a potential replacement for him as head of the NX Project. Even you must know Commander Tucker couldn't turn that opportunity down."]

Clearly, by the beaten expression on his face, Jon Archer had been temporarily broken by these revelations. Now that she's softened him up it was time to deliver the killing blow. She hated having to do this to him, but the service needed men to go where they were most needed, not where they preferred; even those like Jonathan Archer who had earned the right to choose for themselves. It wasn't a fair life they lived. It was a life of duty. Now she had to do hers.

["Jonathan, there is a way that I can keep Enterprise's happy crew together longer, perhaps for another year or two."]

Jon perked up a little with interest and hope.

"Oh, how's that Sir?"

She looked down trying to find the right words. That alone sent alarm bells off in Jon's mind.

["A new Captain would benefit from a honeymoon period from crew turn-over even in these demanding times"] she told him.

["Sato and Mayweather are not the only officers on Enterprise that have skills too valuable to risk on only one starship."]

* * *

When he left his ready room, Hoshi could tell that the Captain was upset. She had no idea what had been said between the Admiral and him but it was clearly bothering the Captain.

Malcolm was up out of the command chair and about to announce the Captain's presence to the Bridge crew when Jon held up a quick palm to stop him.

"Mister Reed, I know It's a bit unusual but you will be completing the rest of alpha shift as Officer of the Watch. I have, unfortunately, been assigned some tasks to perform that require me to go _elsewhere on the ship, the Bridge is yours."_

 _"Of course Sir, thank you Sir" Malcolm replied with genuine enthusiasm, despite the relative boredom of such an assignment._

"You never know when the extra command experience will come in handy Lieutenant" Jon projected out of the turbolift before the door closed. He punched the button for the rear of F Deck and allowed himself to lean against the side.

 _ _"Soon to be Commander Reed will apparently need all the command experience I can give him",__ _Jon thought to himself in self-pitying resignation._

After the door slide open to deposit him at his destination, he quickly made his way past the Armory, the Anti-matter storage compartment and the Brig, passing into the Shuttlebay Observation Deck. From here one could look up and see the four shuttlebay launch doors. The lower support pylons stretching back away from the main hull on either side connected together by the rear housing for the plasma flow crossover regulator. Just peaking out past the pylons on the outside of either could be seen the very rear ends of the warp nacelles. Not only did this room offer the best natural unobstructed view on Enterprise but it was also popular with the crew for reading. He had even heard occasionally for an after movie night rendezvous between crew members of the opposite sex.

Perhaps it was appropriate he thought about the room's clandestine use that way now. After all, this perhaps was one of the last times he could have an intimate moment with the one thing that he had obsessed over and cared for more than even himself for nearly every day since the day his father had died.

His father's Warp five engine and the ship that surrounded it.

ENTERPRISE

His father's dream made into duranium and composite alloy reality.

Jon had become a warp dynamics engineer, a test pilot, and joined Starfleet for only one reason to begin with. So that he could have a chance to see his father's work made into reality. He had even risked court-martial to see that his father's dream wasn't derailed by those with short-sighted vision.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the stars would align to perfection and that he would get the chance to actually be the one to ensure his father's crowning achievement's ultimate success, but he had. The positive publicity that Starfleet had generated by putting Henry Archer's son in command of the first ship to carry the Warp five engine was just what Starfleet needed. Perhaps it was inevitable that once his father's friend, Maxwell Forrest, was placed over the project that Jon would get the command.

Now both men, in their own ways, had sacrificed their lives to continue that dream.

Humanity reaching its full potential and stretching out across the starry heavens.

He looked now from the visible parts of the ship's aft portions and out upon the vastness of space that surrounded his relatively microscopic ship. He always admired the way that random particulate space matter looked from a ship traveling at warp. It was as if a million stars were falling away from Enterprise as she hurtled through space.

Off to his left, he could see the reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and purples of the great Bassen Rift Nebula itself. Occasional flashes of energy discharges would punctuate the beauty of creation that was the nebula. Inside its core millions of newly born baby stars, millions of years older than he or Enterprise were forming. Perhaps millions of years from now new worlds would have formed around those stars and new civilizations would be ready to reach other stars from those worlds.

Would Human eyes be there to watch these newborn civilizations reach the stars they dreamed of?

Would those Humans even have the same type of eyes to do the same type of watching then?

The only thing Jon Archer knew for certain was that he would never know the answer to those questions.

Somewhere past that great nebula that Enterprise now tracked a course around in order to make new friends of the people of Bolarus Prime, laid a vast interstellar civilization that now was the latest and perhaps the greatest threat to the continuation of his father's dream.

Few knew and none understood the true motivations of the people who called their civilization the Romulan Star Empire.

No one even knew what a Romulan looked like. They could be anything from some gelatinous globs with brains to the spitting images of Humans or Andorians or even Vulcans. If anyone that has ever met Humanity knew what a Romulan looked like they certainly had never told.

All that was known about Romulans, and all that information came from Vulcans, was that they are an aggressive, xenophobic, warlike people whose only goal was expansion, conquest, and glory for their empire at the expense of other sentient species.

Not the friendliest assessment for a civilization, even coming from a Vulcan perspective.

Now Humanity was square in their sights.

From his previous two dealings with them, and to his knowledge he was the only Human starship captain to have encountered them before, nothing he had observed of them so far had contradicted the Vulcan's assessment of them.

He knew once Raquel had told him the truth that she, and Starfleet Command, and Earth Gov., and the Vulcan Defense Ministry, and their Strategic Studies Institute had all been right about the Romulans' intentions. The Romulans were going to invade the Rift and the former Expanse and soon; then, Jon had no doubt, they would attack what they felt was the weakest military link in the Coalition of Planets.

Earth.

 _ _"How can the so-called Hero of the Xindi Conflict fight the Romulans from a desk at Starfleet Command?"__

That thought once again went down like a bitter pill.

 _ _"I'm too valuable to risk as a mere starship Captain?"__

 _ _"As Starfleet's most combat experienced field commander I am needed on Earth to help formulate strategy?"__

 _ _"Your popularity will help get the public and the politicians behind Starfleet?"__

As he repeated some of the reasons Admiral M'benga had given him for his eventual promotion to a flag officer and an eight-hour daily desk command, all Jon could think about was Enterprise.

He looked off into the vastness of space toward his right side. Through the false stars streaming past he could see the real ones behind them, almost stationary in their places, but his Enterprise traveled too fast for them to not drift somewhat. He reached for the light dimmer and turned off what little illumination that had been on. He knew he couldn't possibly see the tiny little yellow star he was looking for but somewhere out there was home, the sol system, Earth.

 _ _"Is it she who calls me home and away from my stars and my father's dream, which is now more my dream than ever his?"__

Weren't Enterprise and the dream he inherited from his father bigger than that blue and green ball of rock and water that had birthed the civilizations whose best and most noble concepts, principles, and ideas he now dreamed of spreading out into the heavens?

Or was Humanity destined to always be tied to the world that was their cradle? Always called home eventually no matter how far off into the heavens they would roam?

Two years ago Jon Archer answered that question without hesitation. He and his crew and his father's dream went off into the unknown, alone save one Vulcan advisor, to protect Mother Earth and their entire species from extinction and destruction.

At the critical moment, mere seconds before the Xindi weapon would have fired its planet splitting beam into the planet of his birth, Jon Archer was ready to die in order to protect that world. In fact, he should have died and had accepted it with inevitable resignation because he would have sacrificed himself to save Earth and the Human race.

He knew of no nobler of a reason to die.

But Daniels and his time hopping future "Federation" could not afford to lose the so-called "historic figure of importance" that he was supposed to become.

 _"_ _ _No Jon Archer, no Federation."__

Was this the great and noble journey that would lead him to his destiny and the founding of this great interstellar alliance and civilization?

 _ _"Only if signing autographs and kissing politicians backsides, while the people I care most about risk their lives on the front lines, would result in this Federation of Daniels!"__

Somewhere out there beyond his visual capabilities to see was his people's home and relatively nearby were the home stars of the Tellarites, and the Andorians, and the Vulcans. He had been to all of their worlds and many more.

Somehow over the last four years not only did his father's dream become his own, but it had morphed into something greater.

It was no longer just the dream of Human space flight across the stars, but a dream of taking Humanity's best qualities and combining them with the best qualities of the other civilizations they met to form something even greater than the individual races could ever hope to achieve all alone.

Jon Archer hoped and prayed that Daniels would show up like he had many times before and whisk him off on a time-travelling adventure that would straighten out this timeline so that the Romulans would go back behind their borders and he and the dream he now shared with his father could travel just a few more years together exploring strange new worlds and new civilizations.

Somehow deep inside he knew Daniels wouldn't come. Inside his very being, he knew this was the way things were supposed to be and that he had to take the next step of seeing his new dream, the Federation, become reality. There was either going to be a war to win or a peace to keep, and an interplanetary union to build.

He knew that somehow going home now would bring him towards this destiny Daniels had foretold him of, but it would require him to leave behind his stars, and his Enterprise.

 _ _"Well, I guess that's it, my decision is made."__

He laid his hands on the ledge below the windows and leaned against them with sudden fatigue seeping into him. He stared out into the vast beauty of the galaxy he now called home. He loved being a starship captain, he loved Enterprise. Enterprise was just as much the cradle of this future Federation as Earth was Humanity's cradle. She was also as much his father's child as he was. Saying goodbye to the ship that was like a family member to him and also his home would be hard indeed, but he had some time left before he had to leave her.

Saying goodbye and good luck to the crew that had become like family to him would be even harder though.

He looked out to the heavens once more.

 _ _"I get to dream just a little while longer. Thank you, dad, for putting all of the stars of the heavens within my reach."__


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So this next scene is really racy. Like I said when I started this story I originally wrote it nearly a decade ago and I had to decide whether to highly sensor this next scene or to publish it with a warning. It would almost require a whole rewrite so I decided to go with a warning:

THE FOLLOWING SCENE IS FOR MATURE READERS.

If you'd rather not read it please skip to the next scene between Malcolm and Hoshi.

* * *

Lizzy's long blonde hair was flowing in the breeze as Trip pushed his little sister higher on the swing. She laughed and giggled as he smiled wider with every push.

"Momma's gonna get me if she sees how high I'm pushing you!"

"Push me higher Trip, HIGHER" his baby sister yelled with glee.

Then she jumped at the peak of the highest swing, feet flailing in the air. She came down on both of those feet and rolled out of the landing. Trip was around the swings and had his sister on her feet.

"Swing me around!" she demanded with a smile. He grabbed both her wrists and started turning to the right as she ran around him. Soon the power of their momentum had her feet in the air as she spun about him. They both laughed and giggled until he could go no more. When they came to a stop he held her hands as both tried to catch their breath.

"Lizzy….I've missed you…..so much. I'm sorry…..I was the one…..who was supposed to…be out here…..protecting you and…..all the others."

She gently shook her golden strands about her head and then words of love and understanding far beyond the years of her eight-year-old visage came forth.

"Awe Trip…there was no way you could have stopped….the attack. I'm gone now, that's just the way life is. You did all that any brother, anyone for that matter, could have done and thanks to you and your friends Earth was saved. I'm so proud of you, I always have been proud to be your sister."

As her words sank into his mind she glanced back at the swings. "Trip, your friend is lonely; you should go play with her now. She needs you."

Trip turned and saw a slightly older girl with brown hair sitting on a swing and looking back with intense hazel-green eyes. She was older than Lizzy, more Trip's age. He felt compelled to go to her.

He started to move toward her then and Lizzy had already released one of his hands when he turned back to her and asked "you sure you don't want to play more? My friend is patient; she's the one who brought me here. I don't want you to be lonely."

She smiled back with pure joy "I won't be lonely Trip. I'm always here with you." She placed her hand on his chest, right above his heart.

He returned her smile and then turned toward his new playmate as Lizzy's hand fell gently from his.

He approached the brown haired girl who sat still on the swing with only slight trepidation. She had to be the prettiest girl in the whole wide world; even if she did have pointed ears whose tips poked through her long brown strands. She never took her eyes off of him. There was an expression across her lips that wasn't quite a smile. As he got closer her mysterious eyes followed upward as he approached.

"I'm sorry I left you alone for so long but I don't get the chance to play with my…."

As he turned his head to look back at where Lizzy had been an expression of great sadness filled his young face. She was gone.

Then he felt two small fingers brush the outside of his hand. He turned back to those beautiful eyes as new little playmate spoke. "That was our purpose for coming here. Will you demonstrate the pendulum action of this apparatus for me so that I may experience the sensation?"

He looked back in temporary confusion "you want me to push you on the swing?"

She nodded her assent. He moved behind her. He could smell her hair as slight strands blew in the autumn air of what felt like an Indian Summer. She was already gripping the ropes with considerable force when he gently placed his hands over hers. He looked down at her over her shoulder; those eyes of hers would not let him look elsewhere.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She replied "I do not believe it wise for you to accelerate me with the same force as your sister, at least until I have become used to the motion. I will inform you when and if I require additional acceleration."

Trip gave her that crooked grin of his and in his thickest drawl replied: "yes ma'am!"

He then pushed her forward, lightly. "Kick your legs back and forth with the motion" he instructed her. As she complied with his suggestion he pushed her again and she swung farther out. She turned back toward him for confirmation that she was doing her part correctly. His returning smile answered her unspoken question.

"You may apply more force" she instructed. He obeyed, her willing servant. After several minutes of increasing her swing height, she now rose slightly above his head on her backstrokes. He could reach up and push her from the bottom side of the seat. As she swung downward her dark locks of hair flew across his face like a cascade of spring water off a small waterfall.

 _"I have never been this happy!"_

She turned back to look at him with those doe eyes of hers, looking as if she had heard him say those words.

He asked her "you want to jump off?"

Her expression changed just slightly "I am not certain that would be the best course to follow!"

He teased her slightly "not 'fraid are ya?"

"Vulcans do not experience fear!" was her reply in a rather irritated sounding tone, which he found quite compelling.

"You know I know that's not true! You just suppress your emotions, but they're still there!"

She didn't challenge him on that point, which meant she knew he was right. To his surprise, at the top of the next swing out, she let go. As she flew through the air he could tell she would not land on her feet. He began to move and to both their amazement he was under her and had caught her in mid-flight. As if by magic she had landed with her arms around his neck and…a smile on her face. When she looked up into his eyes, now wide as saucers, staring back at her she quickly changed the expression back to Vulcan stoicism. The momentary lapse over, she lowered herself to her feet.

"That activity was most, intriguing. The sensations caused by the motions were most agreeable."

A broad grin split Trip's cheeks "I'm glad you liked it."

She continued "it would be agreeable to try the centrifugal exercise as well." She reached out and locked wrists with Trip. As they were about to begin a noise caught Trip's attention, almost like someone mumbling. He turned and looked over his shoulder in the direction he thought the voice had come.

"What's that?" he asked as he turned to face her again. Gone was the beautiful Vulcan girl and in her place was the perfect Vulcan woman she would become, except, unlike his T'pol this vision still had long hair. He realized his brief foray back to childhood was over; his hands showing that he too was no longer a child either.

She lifted a gentle eyebrow at him, their wrist locks having changed to hand holds. She said to him in her sultry, melodious purr of a voice "I believe Phlox is attempting to wake you T'hy'la."

The playground he and his sister played on as children melted away into the white space that he and his love shared between their minds.

He shook his head at her "That playground doesn't exist in real life now, it was destroyed along with the rest of my hometown. I'm not ready to leave here just yet. We didn't get to play enough together. There're so many other fun things I want to show you."

Off in the distance that mumble had become a whisper and it was indeed Phlox's voice.

["Commander Tucker, Trip."]

"You should go now T'hy'la" she said to him. "I will soon have great need for you again soon and you should at least eat beforehand."

"Are you sure?" he asked the woman that had effortlessly replaced his heart. "I really want to centrifugally rotate you about my center of mass" he finished with a smirk.

She pulled herself in close to him and flexed her toes upward so her lips were near his ear. "Perhaps, T'hy'la, when I awaken as well, we can attempt a more intimate version of that exercise."

She pulled back just enough so that they could lock eyes again. Nothing else needed to be said between them after her last comment.

Trip jumped slightly as Phlox's hand pushed down on his shoulder, finally awakened from his slumber. Quickly before he could speak Phlox held up a warning hand and pointed to the gorgeous Vulcan beauty now draped across his mid-section. Her head was on his chest and both her legs were on top of his. Phlox had been Enterprise's doctor since leaving space dock and had probably seen every member of the crew naked several times over, but Trip still felt the need to pull the sheet back over her exposed perfection.

Phlox placed his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture and then mouthed wordlessly "no sound." Trip knew those sexy pointed ears of hers were several times more sensitive than their Human equivalents.

Phlox then used his hand to indicate for Trip to get up and follow. That was a task easier suggested than accomplished. As he reached for a free pillow to place under her head she began to stir. Slowing his pace slightly calmed her somewhat. He then placed the pillow under her head, lifted it slightly and slide his upper body out from underneath as he lowered her back to the mattress. That's when the arm still across his body tensed up and wrapped tight around him. She said in her sleep "T'hy'la…..my Human" as he looked to Phlox for some assistance. Phlox reached down gingerly and gently pried her hand from Trip's body. Now slightly freer, Trip removed his hand from under her pillow and very slowly moved his legs out from under hers. Choosing to roll off of the bed instead of sitting up, Phlox gave him a hand up as he pushed himself upright off of the floor and stood.

Having forgotten that he was completely naked, Phlox touched his arm with a bath towel which Trip quickly wrapped himself with. As they proceeded toward the dining area hatch T'pol began to stir again. An expression of pitiful sadness crossed her closed eye face as her free arm aimlessly searched the spot Trip had just vacated. As she did this she said in her sleep "T'hy'la….don't leave me, T'hy'la."

Quickly Phlox pointed to Trip's pillow and indicated for him to put it close to her head. As he did so that roaming hand snatched it up to her face and in obvious relief, she calmed and took a deep nose-full of his scent then released a long deep sign saying "ashal T'hy'la" as she curled up with it.

Phlox couldn't tell if Trip was relieved she was still sleeping or jealous of the pillow. They quickly made their way into the dining area and as soon as the hatch was closed they both let out long sighs of relief.

Phlox said in a low voice "make sure to keep it in low tones, Mr. Tucker, she can probably hear us through the closed hatch."

Trip nodded. Phlox pointed him to the food and Trip sat and began eating. As he did Phlox ran his scanner over him. "Your serotonin, endorphins, and adrenaline are all higher than normal. If you were a Vulcan male you would be in full Pon Farr now."

Through a mouthful of food, Trip replied: "good to know Doc, what's up with the sniffing?"

Phlox was perplexed "sniffing, Mr. Tucker?"

"Yeah" Trip retorted. "She about snorted up that pillow I slept on just now, and earlier, when things were getting….heavy, she acted like I smelled like warm buttermilk biscuits or I guess to her favorite version of Plomeek Soup."

Phlox chuckled a bit and explained the Commander's sudden enjoyment of his once supposedly unpleasant odor.

"Both Vulcan sexes have the mental and physiological ability to go into Pon Farr, but for the ladies, it's usually in response to their mates' own condition. Vulcan males are quite regular about when they enter Pon Farr and it's that powerful nose of the Vulcan females that lets them know when it's time for them to respond to their mate's needs or to avoid someone else's."

Trip was still confused "but Humans stink to Vulcans. She had to use a nasal suppressant for months when she first came on Enterprise."

Phlox giggled again and shook his head. When he saw Trip was getting frustrated he sat down and thoroughly explained.

"As a rule Humans, as a group, smell bad to Vulcans. However, if you put a room of Vulcan males into a room of Human females, or vice versa, and lock the door for a few days, one or more of the Vulcans might go into Pon Farr. You see Humans, and Vulcans and many other species are quite remarkably similar on a biochemical level. Human Pheromones are virtually identical to their Vulcan counterparts. Vulcans have mastered their biochemistry to a point where they release virtually no Pheromones, at least until Pon Farr. To a Vulcan, all the Humans of his or her same-sex smell like rivals in Pon Farr while all those of the opposite sex smell like potential mates."

Trip was perplexed "we…Humans can't even smell Pheromones. Vulcans can actually detect them as odors?"

Phlox nodded, Trip continued "so all this time, all four years and a half I have known her and been taking at least two showers a day just so she wouldn't think I stink as much, and you're telling me I actually smelled good to her?"

Phlox bit his lip to keep from smiling at the Commander's consternation.

"Actually Commander, you, in particular, appear to have a virulently potent Pheromone. T'pol had worked at the Vulcan Embassy for a few years before boarding Enterprise. She was already used to the way Humans smelled."

Phlox looked toward the hatch as if T'pol could step through at any moment. "Remember the first time you met T'pol, she came into the Captain's ready room where you and Porthos were with him?"

"Yeah, she turned her nose up at Porthos like he smelled like pure…"

"It wasn't Porthos that set her nose to tingling. She came to me because she at first thought Porthos had a genetic deformity that caused him to release a Vulcan male Pon Farr strength Pheromone. I assured her he was fine. Shortly thereafter we were able to determine it was not our four-legged friend who was at fault."

"It was ME?" Trip asked.

"Indeed" he smiled back "she found it impossible to work around you because your unique Pheromone was driving her to distraction. You and you alone were the reason for the nasal suppressant. Even when we transported Ambassador V'Lar she too had to have a nasal suppressant after meeting you. You have a Pheromone that for Vulcan females appears to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.

"You're joking, right?" Trip asked. Phlox shook his head "As I said, Humans, as a group, stink to Vulcans because of course Human and Vulcan groups that mingle together usually contain members of both sexes. She wasn't lying when she said Humans stink to Vulcans, she just omitted certain variances in that truth."

Trip was visibly upset. "Why that little….If I had known!"

"If you had known" Phlox retorted "you would have tried to use it to your advantage romantically because you obviously were attracted to her, and I assure you that she would have not found that an endearing quality. Now that you do know, I suggest that you don't go overboard and be mindful when you are in the presence of other Vulcan females to be sensitive to the effect you could have on them and T'pol. T'pol may suppress her emotions, but she is just as capable of jealousy as a Human female. Since she and you will not be a public couple anytime soon, other Vulcan females' 'attentions' could be directed toward you in a manner that would….disturb her. In other words, don't put T'pol in an awkward position."

Trip looked recalcitrant and properly scolded "I would never do that on purpose to…"

"I know" Phlox said, "which is why I told you all this, now you most likely won't do it by accident either."

Trip nodded in petulant agreement as Phlox pushed a protein drink toward him. Trip began drinking it when he heard an unusual chime. Phlox got up and went over to the counter where a device with a flashing indicator was stationed.

"What's that Doc?" Trip asked him.

"Ah, a medical sample analyzer, I was able to take a blood sample of the Commander's before I woke you. I'm analyzing it to see how effective the microbe removal therapy is."

As he read the results his face contorted into an unusual scowl.

"What's wrong?" Trip asked in concern.

Phlox spoke to him as he continued to read the results. "It appears that the removal therapy is having no effect on the microbes."

Trip's eyes widened in concern "but it worked the first time."

"Yes" Phlox replied "but I had to alter the microbe to make it time delayed and non-infectious. Perhaps something I did to it has made it resistant. Or, perhaps her already altered biochemistry is helping it resist. Either way I have no idea how having the microbe released in the middle of a natural Pon Farr will alter that condition. It could have no effect at all. It could simply extend the Pon Farr for several more days. It could both intensify and extend the Pon Farr."

Trip's level of concern intensified. "This Pon Farr seems to be serious enough, add that we're both physically weakened and I don't think we can afford for her to have a 'super' Pon Farr!"

Phlox consoled him. "We have the better part of four days for me to analysis her blood samples. I'm sure that we can come up with something in that time to at the very least take the edge off the microbes' potential amplifying effects. Rest assured I will work on it constantly until then; however, it is now more important than ever that you make her eat! She will need all the energy she can get and so will you."

Trip nodded in acknowledgment. "Anything else I can do or I should know?"

Phlox had picked up a hypospray from the set he had previously left for Trip and moved toward the Commander. He gently pushed it to Trip's neck and released the Triox into his bloodstream. Looking at the empty vial of the hypospray Phlox continued.

"As you know this is not only a combination wedding and mating ritual but also a very real medical condition for T'pol. She literally could die if she were denied sexual release. With that in mind and the fact that I may not be able to resolve the microbe issue, there is an emergency option to help you meet the challenge."

Trip cocked an eyebrow at the almost reluctant Doctor. Phlox then explained the emergency procedure.

"Triox, if injected at a certain point on the body, will result in an immediate and prolonged response. You should not use this more than twice, three times at most in a week's time."

Trip looked back at him with confusion and concern. "Are you telling me that if I inject Triox into my…?"

"Yes, near the base" Phlox confirmed.

"OUCH!" Trip replied in imagined pain at the thought of using a hypospray on his manhood.

"The true pain involved does not result from the injection" Phlox stated matter of fact, almost as if he had previous experience himself with it. "The true pain occurs if you don't happen to find a use for its results immediately. T'Pol's need for sexual gratification may seem trivial in comparison."

"Let's hope it doesn't get to that point", Trip said in obvious concern.

"Like I said" Phlox replied, "It's for emergency use only."

Trip nodded in adamant understanding.

Phlox smiled down at him "have you had enough to eat?"

Trip nodded that he had. Phlox grabbed three electrolyte juices and a protein drink. He then held his finger to his lips and stepped back into T'Pol's sleeping chamber. Trip followed with Phlox's med kit and the one containing his supply of Triox and Hyposildenofil. After they quietly laid their supplies on the far table Phlox handed him a lighting instrument and they proceeded to light the candles that occupied either side of the room.

As they moved with quiet effectiveness T'Pol began to stir.

"T'hy'la….ashal…..shan'hal'lak….Dena-val, Dena-val."

Trip and the Doctor finished their respective candle lighting assignments near the hatchway toward the hallway. The Doctor spoke directly into Trip's ear.

"Make her drink those first if possible." He then extended his hand and shook Trip's. "Again, congratulation and good luck."

Trip pumped the Doctor's hand "thanks again to you, for everything, I mean it."

The Doctor was about to respond when they both were interrupted by a shattered drinking glass against the bulkhead. They both turned quickly to see an enraged Vulcan beauty wrapped in a red silk sheet and ready for war.

"GET OUT!" she roared across the all too small guest quarters.

The Doctor locked eyes with Trip again. "Good luck!" he said and was halfway out the hatchway when he realized that Trip was also halfway out the opening. With a semi-gentle shove, he pushed the suddenly reluctant suitor back in. "I'm afraid your work is in there now Commander, enjoy."

As the hatch slammed shut Trip just stared at it in concerned reluctance. Then he felt warm, moist, and sticky breath on the base of the back of his neck and two warm, soft mounds of flesh pressing into the middle of his back. Next two hands began to caress his skin. One glided gracefully over his right clavicle and down his bare chest to let the fingers play with his chest hair. The other hand went down the outside of his left thigh, releasing his towel from him, before crossing towards his front.

The physical sensation was accompanied by the hum of their bond reasserting itself into full force desire. The "fire" they shared in their minds melted his apprehension, but as his head began to swim in the delightful emotions she projected, he had just enough sense left to remember her dietary needs. As she began to drag her lower lip and teeth across his left neck crook he said to her in obvious pleasure "baby, why don't you drink those right quick and then we can get to work."

"I'm not hungry or thirsty, for that. I am hungry, for you" she said between gentle kisses on his back and all too pleasurable hand movements. He had just enough will power left to gently turn toward her. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up to his mouth as she wrapped her sheet draped legs around him. The pure joy that erupted between their minds as their lips and tongues danced to the rhythm of their mutual desire pulsating through their bond, nearly overwhelmed his sense of reason. He gently placed her bottom on the nearby table and with a free hand reached back and grabbed an electrolyte container. He broke their lip lock reluctantly and placed the drinking straw to her hungry mouth as she angrily drank it dry in a few powerful sips. Quickly grabbing the second and then the third and placing them close to her mouth, she finished both in seconds. Before he could get to the protein shake she tossed it from his hand with a flick of her wrist.

"No more T'hy'la! Give me guv, now!" Her legs were wrapped around his back, her arms around his shoulders and her lips and tongue on his neck. Over his own lust, he asked "what's 'goove' baby?"

"Me and you, one body, one katra; that's guv! Now, no more words or beverages, I need you! Give me guv T'hy'la! Please don't deny me any longer!"

With a force that surely caused his love great pain, she dropped from the table and onto her knees. Before he could say no she had him. She wrapped both hands around his glutes and pulled him closer. Her superior strength was more than enough to hold him firmly in place.

This had not been part of their first lovemaking encounter and he greatly regretted that now. She performed this task with the same Vulcan-like precision of all her work; but this, like their previous encounter, had a grace to it he couldn't quite explain. The sensations she produced in him forced him to brace a hand on the table and soon after the other hand was on the top of her head. She radiated intense satisfaction through their bond at his reactions. He was finding it difficult not to shake and produce audible responses to her efforts. One of her hands slid up to the small of his back and with both hands, she pulled him in closer.

"Baby" he said breathlessly "I'm not…oh…gonna be much good if you keep this….ah….up much longer."

Looking up to him with those hazel-green eyes he loved so much she sent him a telepathic burst.

 _"Don't worry your pretty blonde head love, I know what you need and I know what you can give. If you can't tell I'm not only in your mind but in total control. Relax and enjoy what I can give you because I will fully enjoy everything you can give me!"_

And with that Trip gave up and she had her way. A few moments more was all that was required. The open link between their minds was a multiplying factor to their physical sensations and he almost dropped to the deck in reaction to the sensations. Her strong hands and arms kept him upright till he regained his bearings again. She then led him by the hand to the smooth silk sheets of the bed and radiated to him in his mind that it was her turn.

He wasn't sure if he said anything out loud or anything coherent through their mind link, but he went about his work with the same precision she had just demonstrated. Her mind was leaking thoughts and emotions through at an ever-increasing rate. _"Trip Tucker is an Engineer"_ , she thought and he heard. _"He fixes me well!"_

Of course, even in Pon Farr his beautiful Vulcan still had more control of her body than he had over his, but soon his efforts paid off. As he applied himself to a consistent approach to giving her pleasure she responded with gentle whimpers. Soon those whimpers became low purrs, grunts, and moans. Her bodily control began to waver much to his enjoyment and satisfaction.

 _"No, baby"_ he sent to her mind _"you will not get away from this. Now I'm in control and you will experience."_

His arms already under her legs he locked her hips down with his hands and pulled her tight into him. Then with slow and powerful extension, he began to stand, pulling her lower body up with him. She gasped in intensified pleasure and then, with her strong abdominals she pulled her body upright. The sudden movement made him lose his balance and they fell back onto the bed in a twisting motion. Never releasing his hold on her, she was on top of him and greedily pushing herself into his face. Then she locked both her hands in his hair and released everything within her that she had been holding back all these long months.

A roar from deep inside her bellowed forth. If the crew in the armory above had not heard it, it wasn't for her lack of trying. Every part of her body shook with convulsions as her moan turned into spasmodic vocalizations. This result was as nothing compared to what was being sent through their bond. Her physical and mental pleasure was transmitted as if it were his own and even with her over his face he screamed at the intensity of their very mutual sensations. To his ultimate surprise, his body had responded physically to the purely mental stimulation. She fell forward over his head and as he began to recover he kissed her abdomen and squeezed her buttocks gently. Her body trembled over him. He could feel that she was not done releasing yet and was gentle with her pulsating form. She whimpered with each new convulsion.

Then with suddenly renewed lust, she pushed herself down his chest and their mouths were once again locked. After several greedy minutes, they broke their lips apart and he pushed her upward to get at her neck and breasts. Her body, having become sensitive in the extreme, allowed their bond to transmit his own actions back to him and her delight at his work.

Then she pushed herself upright on his stomach and placed her hands on his chest. He gracefully ran his hands up and down her arms and legs as she stared down into his eyes.

"Dena-val my ashal" she whispered to him in a weakened yet sultry voice.

To his temporary surprise, he understood the Vulcan word and said so out loud. "Covetous Love, the love of possession."

She smiled gently at his understanding as that tongue of hers wet her now dry lips. "You are mine now and I am yours, we have Dena-val between us."

"No" he said "we have always had Dena-val between us."

She flashed those perfect teeth at him "yes, we were foolish to ignore it for so long." Then to Trip's horror, a wave of regret and bitter sadness hit him as tears fell onto his chest from her eyes.

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into him.

"Forgive me T'hy'la" she begged him. "I have been so illogically foolish. We could have been spending all this time…"

"No baby" he comforted her. "No regrets now, we are together, finally, and I will always be here for you."

Despite his soothing words, she began to wail and convulse with sobbing. The image of her standing over his and their daughter's graves hit his mind with force. He pushed her upright to stare into her eyes. With his thumb,s he wiped away her tears and she grabbed his wrists gently to lay her face on his hands.

"Baby, I will do whatever it is you want me to do to extend my life as long as possible."

She locked eyes with him and asked rather shyly "you promise?"

"Of course, I want every moment with you that life will give us!"

She smiled down on him through the tears soaking her otherwise perfect features and said "that is excellent T'hy'la, once we are done with the Pon Farr we will discuss your new diet. Giving up meat and starches will not be as difficult as you believe."

His eyes widened at that and she visibly began to grow concerned in response to him. Then he caught himself and smiled back. "Yes baby, we can discuss my diet after all this is over."

She transmitted through the bond as she raised that eyebrow at him _"you promised whatever I thought best!"_

"And we will", he said out loud "promise".

She clearly was skeptical of his sincerity as she rolled off of him and onto her feet. She glided her naked body away toward the table and poured herself a glass of water. After she drank it dry she picked up a peach and devoured it. The thoughts he was thinking as he laid back on their bed amused her as she smiled back over the top of that peach at him. He sat upright and stared at her perfection in the multitude of the gentle candlelight flickers. The shadows doing just as much to accent her beauty as any more garish lighting could have done.

"You are also very ascetically pleasing to me T'hy'la, but It's your katra I desire, not your physical beauty or your hypnotizing scent, they are merely pleasant additions. I was shan'hal'lak for you that first day we met. I could not have shaken your hand then without risking a Pon Farr."

Trip blinked in realization. "You knew that Phlox told me about the smell thing?"

She beamed at him smugly in response. "Our bond's intensity already has grown, and your beautiful, emotional self gives those wonderful emotions and thoughts up so freely. It is infectious and intoxicating for me, and I am now a very satisfied addict."

He smiled that crooked smile of his at her that he now knew weakened her resolve to oppose him. "Shan'hal'lak? Love at first sight! I have to admit I did not believe that Vulcans even had such a concept."

She poured another glass of water and in response to his unspoken request, picked up the previously discarded protein shake for herself. She then glided back toward him with both, applying a bit more action to her hips than was normal for her. She straddled his lap and handed him the glass which he gulped down. The Vulcan level temperature in the room was only now beginning to have a noticeable effect on him. She sipped her beverage now at a more leisurely pace as she spoke.

"It is used mostly to describe a good pairing for the betrothal bonding. If the two future mates seem to enjoy each other's companionship before the betrothal bond is placed it is said to be shan'hal'lak. It is by the nature of our emotional suppression beliefs, never used to describe adult Vulcan interactions, but it is most appropriate in describing us. I knew the moment I saw you that there was something about you I could not dismiss. My thoughts often drifted to you and your effect upon me. I denied it for so long, but the intensity we shared, even in the heat of debate, made me….."

"Want me more" he finished for her as she gently pushed him flat on the bed. She traced her fingers across his lips; she then pulled those two fingers upright above him. Without thinking he did the same and began to gently use his fingers to stroke the inside and outside of hers. She then did the same to him as both their minds locked together.

"My ashal" she began "I desire none but you. I am ready to be yours forever if you will have me?"

Trip smiled at her as she released slow tears from her eyes. Their fingers still stroking each other he said words that came to him from deep inside his mind as if they had come from the ancient times of old.

"My dar'lin one, I desire none but you. I am ready to be yours forever."

The pure joy that spread across her tear stained face as her perfect eyes light up was something that Trip Tucker would remember with unending devotion and love for the rest of his life and beyond.

Then, to his shock and quite some pain, she skillfully produced a triox filled hypospray and, reaching effortlessly behind her back, injected its contents right where Phlox had said it would do the most.

"AWEOW!" he yelped. Her smile of joy turned to one of feral lust as she purred at him "I told you there would be nothing secret between us my T'hy'la."

"That's supposed to be for emergencies only!" he protested as the swelling began. Then he realized Phlox was right, the real pain was not using its results in a timely manner. She saw his discomfort and felt the pressure of its results through their bond. Without ever breaking their fingers from one another she stroked his face with the other hand.

"I would not leave my ashal in such pain."

With grace and ease, she slid down and onto him. It was more relief than pleasure for him, but he soon felt better as she pulsated atop him with slow and methodic purpose. She bent down and their lips mingled. Then she sat back upright and with both hands she placed her fingers on either side of his head and face, subtlety adjusting the contact points of her fingertips. Trip could not even explain why he imitated her procedure, but once his fingers were on her face they spoke the words together that would link them in this life and he hoped the next.

"My mind to your mind. My thoughts…"

As his mind expanded to encompass what felt like the entire universe he could feel her within him and surrounding him. They both knew that neither would ever be alone again and that their lives would never be the same.

* * *

It was late. Few crewmen could tell as well as Malcolm just how late it was. Malcolm had adjusted the artificial lighting settings during the Xindi Mission because he had noticed the crew not sleeping as well as they should. Having done some research he had discovered that other space vessels had noticed similar widespread crew insomnia and that one of the least invasive methods to correct it had been to adjust the ship's lighting to gradually dim toward what was known as artificial night settings. Beforehand, at exactly twenty-three hundred hours Enterprise's lighting would dim to the artificial night level and then back to full lighting at zero-five hundred hours.

Presenting his findings to Commander T'Pol, she had agreed with his conclusion that the "daytime" lighting in the evenings combined with the crews' general distress over their life or death mission had been a detrimental situation to crew performance ship wide. After implementing the new gradual dimming feature Malcolm had noticed that the hallways and crew spaces emptied sooner and that crew performance and punctuality had markedly improved.

Of course, Enterprise was a twenty-four hour a day ship and even in the wee hours of the morning, there would always be crew members in the mess hall or the gymnasium. Someone would always be in the hallways of D and E decks. What Malcolm did not expect was to see Porthos round the corner this late in the evening. As the canine dashed past him Malcolm turned to watch him go with surprise. The next thing he knew he was sprawled out across the deck with Hoshi laying across him.

To even his own surprise he didn't find that to be nearly as unpleasant as one would expect of a collision.

The surprised Ensign used her arm to push herself off him and then extended her hand to assist him up. As Malcolm got to his feet again Hoshi apologized. "I'm sorry Lieutenant. The Captain had an unexpected call from Starfleet and asked me to walk Porthos for him. As you can see, Porthos was walking me instead."

"No need for apologizes Hoshi, I will assist you in retrieving our Captain's errant companion."

Hoshi smiled back at him and Malcolm felt surprisingly warm and uncomfortable under her engaging gaze. He then realized he had rather improperly spoken just now.

 _"I just used her given name."_

He had no idea when Ensign Sato had become Hoshi in his mind or when he thought it had become alright for him to address her as such, even if one of them was off duty. She was in her tight-fitting exercise pants that let him see just how fit she was and a grey t-shirt that had NX-01 in dark letters right over her very nice chest.

She apparently seemed to know why he suddenly had an awkward look on his face as well.

 _"She really does have a lovely smile."_

Hoshi bent down to pick up the carrier that held Porthos's personal equipment. Then Hoshi walked off down the hallway with Malcolm in tow. As they proceeded down the hallway Malcolm found it difficult to not focus on the Ensign's well shaped posterior. The new uniforms pants, being separate from the tops, tended to fit better, but nowhere near as well as the exercise pants. Malcolm had never really noticed Hoshi's backside before the new uniforms had been issued. He was exceedingly glad that not only the Ensign but all of Enterprise's female personnel had a good record of regular exercise, especially with the new uniforms now common.

When he finally looked up he quickly wiped off the half-cocked grin he had been wearing. Hoshi's eyes apparently had been focused on him for at least a few seconds beforehand and she seemed to be fighting hard not to smirk at Malcolm's sudden discomfort. Malcolm could feel how warm his cheeks were and he knew instantly that he had been caught red-handed.

Hoshi let him off the hook easy as she pointed down the next corridor. "I think I hear him around the next corner", she said in a low whisper to Malcolm through her still grinning mouth.

She slowly turned her head past the corner as Malcolm slid in behind her. Then in obvious anger, she rounded back at him. "Darn it, he's going in the hallway." Malcolm smiled at her and just then Porthos walked right up to them with his tail wagging.

Hoshi verbally scolded the hound as Malcolm picked him up. "Bad Porthos! BAD PORTHOS! You know better by now mister!"

Malcolm finally showed his teeth through a smile as he scratched Porthos's chin. "He never runs from the Captain to do his business because he knows he'll get in trouble. With Miss Cheddar Cheese on the other hand…"

Hoshi glared at Malcolm and then at Porthos as she leveled a wagging finger at the all too happy and self-satisfied canine. "Well, there's no Cheddar Cheese for this bad puppy tonight!" Malcolm laughed again as he took hold of the leash and let Porthos sniff around some more. Hoshi quickly used the contents of the carry-all to make quick work of Porthos's "business", and then she and Malcolm escorted him back to the Captain's quarters.

As she placed him inside he wagged his tail at her and barked for a treat.

"I shouldn't because you've been very naughty", she said as she reached into his treat bowl and tossed him one. As she emerged and the hatch slid closed behind her Malcolm grinned and shook his head gently. Hoshi leveled her angry gaze at him again. "Don't say a word, not one word." Malcolm began to giggle at her which only made her add a pout to the glare. As they approached his quarters Malcolm said to her "well Ensign, hope you get a good night's sleep."

Hoshi smiled at him in a deprecating and shy way. "Actually I didn't eat dinner and thought I would grab something to eat right quick. If you're not too sleepy yet I could use the company."

Malcolm felt a small lump in his throat but he was a bit hungry too and some decaffeinated tea would warm him up for bed.

 _"Plus It's a good excuse to spend some time with Hoshi."_

"Well Ensign, I suppose I could use a spot of decaf tea to warm me for bed."

 _"I have something that would be better for warming you for bed"_ crossed Hoshi's mind as the Lieutenant walked towards her and they proceeded down the corridor.

She cocked her head at him as they walked "You know, MALCOLM, I have a name other than Ensign. I heard you use it once already this evening, so I know you know it."

Malcolm was military through and through and even having a midnight snack with a subordinate of the female persuasion was a bit controversial for his sensibilities; however, Hoshi and he had been colleagues for a long time so he supposed that it would be alright this once to drop the decorum with her while both were off duty.

Plus for some reason, he was feeling frisky with her tonight. He decided that to tease her some more would please him. "That's interesting; I thought Ensign was a traditional Japanese name for girls?"

She hauled off and punched him in the right shoulder.

"Awow!" Malcolm replied and then grinned at her as he rubbed his new sore. "Striking a superior officer now, HOSHI?"

Hoshi held her chin up high and smiled a self-satisfied smile at him. "A senior officer, not necessarily a SUPERIOR one."

Malcolm did his best to look hurt by her teasing words but he only made Hoshi laugh again. She rubbed his shoulder for him as they entered the empty Mess Hall. Malcolm again felt very warm inside and was no longer sleepy in the least.

* * *

["I'm sorry to bother you this late in the evening Jonathan"] Admiral M'benga said through the subspace communications link.

"What now Raquel? Have I been promoted to Fleet Admiral?"

The Admiral sadly frowned back at his groggy attempt at sarcasm ["How long are you going to be mad at me Jonathan?"]

Jon cracked a smile for her then "I suppose I can't be too upset, after all, this was my decision to make, right?"

His sarcasm was palpable as M'benga smiled back at him ["You know the stakes better than most, we need you here on Earth for the time being. I have promised you a field command if hostilities begin and I told you Enterprise could be your flagship then. I also promised you that I would protect T&T from crew poaching for at least a year. Do you need more to sweeten the deal Jonathan? Perhaps you'd like my house too?"]

"Well, it is pretty nice and has a great view of the Pacific."

She squinted her eyes in mock anger, which made him break into a smirk.

"Alright, alright" Jon responded with mild irritation, "I'll forgive you….eventually."

["I know how rough it is for you to give up the Enterprise but it's the best deal I could get you"] she smiled back sympathetically. ["I'm contacting you again because of two things. First the good news."] Jon winced slightly at that, good news always meant there was bad news to go with it, and Jon had had about enough of that for one week.

["The ECS Fullerton is making its way toward Bolarus Prime and should arrive there sometime during your visit. A young lady named Victoria Jenkins will be aboard. She recently passed the Starfleet OCS Entrance Examination. However, she will have to delay entrance for at least two semesters as the Fullerton is not scheduled to be back in Earth territory for over nine months. She could be transported back by another T-Class ship but the earliest one she can get on would still take six months to get to Earth. If you wouldn't mind hauling her back here we can get her in the next semester's classes. She'll be considered a full cadet once aboard and I'm sure she'll appreciate the extra credit work and experience that Enterprise can provide her."]

Jon smiled a bit "Guess we'll both be kicked off Enterprise at the same time! I'll shift her around the departments so she might get an idea of what career path she'll pursue when she graduates."

["Excellent, I'm sure she and her parents will appreciate your help. Now for the bad news. Another T-Class ship has not reported in for over two days. The ECS New Hope was on a standard freight pickup run between worlds. ECA Central picked up an emergency subspace data burst just before contact became scrambled. It appears that they had been tracking a sensor shadow for most of that day. I'm sending you all the info we have. If It's the Romulans, Ensign Sato's decoding skills might be our best hope for confirmation. Have her look over the interference for any clues toward the origin. Our best people back here are certain it's a jamming frequency, but whose frequency is what we hope she can determine. The New Hope's planned path had it come between you and Bolarus Prime and its last reported position is only a few hours off your current track. If you don't find her within the first few hours you are to return on course to Bolarus. The Bolians are the key to solidifying Earth's strategic position within the Rift. I hate to leave civilians in distress out on their own; but if this was the Romulans' doing, then we need the Bolians on board with us now. If T'pol or Tucker were on their feet I'd have you send Enterprise to investigate while you remained behind to negotiate. If you feel Reed can do it that's fine but otherwise, it's your second priority after the negotiations."]

"I understand Admiral" Jon replied. If it was the Romulans than that was a very bad sign in relation to when they planned to make their move. Being so deep into the Rift showed a confidence level that indicated that the Romulans were ready to move any day. Enterprise may be in a hot war sooner than expected and she could be very outnumbered.

["I will not tie your hands out there Jonathan, but I will say this. Earth is not ready for war, not yet. If you get into a tight spot out there then do what you think is best, but all the ECA ships out there know that if the Romulans make a move they are to high tail it out and back toward Earth. If an incursion occurs then I want you to do your best to avoid direct contact with the Romulans and do your best to shepherd out the ECA ships, following them out yourself."]

"We'll keep an eye out Admiral."

["Alright Jonathan, try to get some sleep. M'benga out."]

Jon stared at the data transmitted by the Admiral for a while before forwarding it to the appropriate department heads for analysis. He knew Enterprise well enough now to detect even subtle course and speed changes through the sounds and deck plating vibrations. Enterprise shifted to the starboard and increased speed slightly. These were things that structural integrity fields and inertial damping fields were supposed to make impossible to detect but he knew Enterprise. He would miss this, no matter how difficult of a challenge being the Captain of Earth's most famous starship had been, he would miss it with everything he was.

He began reading through the other data that always accompanied official orders so as to try to confuse anyone attempting to read the encrypted information and also for the practical purpose of reducing the constant usage of the subspace channels.

General Order 2155-03-07-035

Effective immediately. All Starfleet vessels, starbases, outposts, and facilities will begin operating on four eight hour shift rotations with two hour overlaps between shifts. All four shifts to be of equal crew complement in the Command, Operations, Engineering and Tactical departments. Shifts will begin and end according to the following schedules, all times Starfleet Headquarters Time.

Alpha: 06:00 to 14:00

Beta: 12:00 to 20:00

Gamma: 18:00 to 02:00

Delta: 00:00 to 08:00

This was a not too unexpected development. Malcolm had long been a proponent of the four shift format, but Jon had resisted, even during the Xindi Mission. A little more than half the crew occupied the current Alpha shift, which best correlated with traditional Human working hours. The other half of the crew occupied the current Beta and Gamma shifts. Junior enlisted personnel shared quarters and a Gamma or Beta was always bunked with an Alpha so that the crewman could always sleep in an empty room. Now there undoubtedly would need to be crew quarter reassignments to allow for the new work hours.

Moving toward the new four shift format would most easily be accomplished by splitting Alpha into the new Alpha and Delta shifts, but more than likely, given the hour formats involved, it would require all the shifts to move backward. No one but Malcolm and maybe T'Pol would like this format, but Starfleet could no longer afford peacetime luxuries like Alpha shift packing for crew comfort. He sighed to himself as he realized even he was now required to wake an hour earlier each day.

He read on:

General Order 2155-03-07-036

Effective immediately. All Starfleet and ECA vessels, when entering the Sol System will reduce to sublight speeds before crossing the Oort Cloud Barrier and await approval from Starfleet System Control at Jupiter Station before entering the system. Once past the Oort Cloud Barrier vessels may travel at Warp factor two point five or slower until reaching the Saturn orbit where they will proceed in-system at Warp factor 1.25 or slower.

This was a sensible precaution to Jon. It allowed ships to use warp in the outer solar system while forcing some level of security.

Nothing else caught his eye so he prepared to go to his quarters after another long day. He hoped Porthos hadn't given Hoshi too much trouble, but he had told her that she was too lenient with him and he was certain she was giving him cheese again.

Then Ensign Flores's voice caught him as he was rising from his chair.

["Captain, you have a subspace transmission coming in. Shall I pipe it to your ready room?"]

 _"Good Lord, what now?"_

"Sure Ensign, thanks."

Once the indicator began flashing Jon sat himself back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose before connecting the link. To his pleased delight, he saw the beautiful face of Captain Erika Hernandez staring back at him with a benign smile.

["Hello Jon"], she said behind that lovely smile, then her expression abruptly changed to an angry scowl ["or should I say Commodore Archer, Sir?"]

Jon closed his eyes and rubbed his nose bridge again as he replied, "Raquel told you already, huh?"

She went right into him with a simmering fury ["why DID I have to hear it from her? Not like you would think to tell me first, right?"]

Jon looked back at the screen with a sheepish grin "I just made the decision last night, I haven't told any of my crew y…"

["Nice excuse, try again"] she was mad and she wasn't going to let him off easy.

"Erika, this was just plopped down on my lap twenty-four hours ago. I don't even have it straight in my own head yet."

She glowered at him ["I haven't even been out here eight months and now I'm to be the sole target for 'crew redistribution' to two, Jonathan, TWO new NX Class ships with a third ready in less than a year? You had four years to forge an effective crew and now Trip is going to get at least a year more out of the same group while mine are poached out from under me in less than a year? Starfleet's damn 'no transfer policy' from old ships crap! Oh, and can you guess whose name was number two behind Trip's for command of Discovery? Huh? Take a wild guess Jon?"]

Jon couldn't even look at his beautiful off again/on again love interest. He knew her anger would break his resolve if he looked at her directly. In the tiniest voice that an adult male could possibly muster he answered her meekly.

"...Commander Cross?"

["You're damn right!"] She growled at him. ["Now I have to find a new first officer within a month before he takes over Discovery! I knew that after Trip, Henry was next up but I thought surely I would get to keep him for another seven or eight months till Atlantis was ready to go but no, COMMODORE ARCHER has to go and get promoted, now watch how the dominos fall!"]

Jon sulked under her withering barrage "I had to make a choice that was in the best interest of Starfleet and my crew. You know I don't want to leave Enterprise."

Erika's expression softened a bit as she reluctantly began to sympathize with a man she admired and desired, despite her anger at the situation his decision making had caused her. ["Well, now I have to worry when Raquel or one of the other punto fools at HQ are going to force me to a desk job too?"]

Jon finally looked at her and grinned just slightly "I think they have the pound of flesh they wanted for the time being. You should be safe for a while."

Anger washed from her face and was replaced by a sympathetic frown ["is it really going to be that bad that they need the famous hero Jon Archer to grease the politicians in Geneva for even more resources, and right after they just passed the biggest Starfleet expansion bill ever?"]

Jon frowned and nodded "Let's just say I hope you're nowhere near the Bassen Rift or the Delphic Expanse anytime in the next year. We think the Romulans may already be attacking ECA ships in the Rift. We're detouring to take a look for a missing T-Class as we speak. I'm pretty confident that we won't like what we find."

She shook her head ["what did we ever do to them?"]

Jon smiled back "we exist, that apparently is enough according to the Vulcan's view on them and from what I've seen of them. We're simply in their way."

They both sat there in silence as they contemplated the gathering storm clouds of approaching war. Jon was scared for her. She wasn't on Enterprise like the rest of those he was usually worried about, but he also felt like he was leaving her alone on the front lines of the coming conflict too.

She broke the silence ["and what about this?"]

Jon was confused "this what?"

Erika became slightly frustrated as she replied, "[you know, this….us?"]

"OH! us" he realized.

She looked slightly embarrassed as she responded ["I mean, I know there's no 'us' per se, but, well, well there kind of is an 'us' too. All I know is that the last time we got to a similar place between 'us' and you got promoted, things just stopped. Commander Archer had become very uncomfortable seeing Lieutenant Hernandez, and I'm a bit worried that Commodore Archer would feel the same about Captain Hernandez."]

Jon smiled back warmly to this beautiful woman, despite being angry with him, she had just made a bad week much better and didn't even know it. "Well, I think Commodore Archer feels much more secure about his position within Starfleet then Commander Archer did. I also feel that Commodore Archer is a bit more mature and has had a bit more life experiences at this point too. I believe that he feels that he and a certain lovely Starfleet Captain might be able to exercise a more mature form of off duty association on the rare but valuable occasions when her starship finds its way back to Earth."

She grinned back at him through blushing cheeks ["well, that's a very mature attitude on that subject indeed."]

"I'm glad you approve of my approach on the topic" he replied.

["Well Jon, speaking of off duty associations, how are T&T doing? I heard they were both sick. Some form of alien Mono?"]

Jon's previous grin turned to exasperation "does everyone call them that, damn, does everyone in the Starfleet know?"

She smiled awkwardly back to him, ["well they did, very publically, just have and lose a baby. Now they'll be the most recognizable victims in one of the biggest trials in Earth history. If it wasn't for the Terra Prime tragedy no one off of Enterprise would be the wiser, but they're going to have eyes on them now, even if they stay way out here. You think they can pull it off?"]

Jon grinned again "T'pol? Yeah, she'll pull it off. If it were Captain Trip and a Human female first officer in a similar 'friendship' I would have grave doubts, but T'pol will make sure HE pulls it off."

Erika sent him a feral grin at that ["'spare the rod and spoil the man?' Vulcan women have such an enlightened philosophy about relationships, don't you think?"]

Jon shot her a scowl "don't get any ideas Miss Hernandez!" She laughed heartily at that.

["You know Jon, after I realized they were 'friends', I was surprised at how….logical it was."]

Jon furrowed his brow at that "how so?"

["Well you know Trip. He's pretty strong in most areas but relationships with women? Sure, he rarely finds himself without female attention, but he has a hard time retaining it long term. Well, in steps a woman who would not even consider a relationship unless it was long term. I'm sure there are a lot of miscommunication issues, but Trip finally has what he needs to complete himself. He has a 'friend' that will be dedicated to him. Perhaps Human females were simply too….intransigent for him?"]

Jon nodded "well they have always butted heads but I think that they have both been a good influence on each other. I'm not sure she would have been able to understand the rest of the crew as effectively without Trip's insistence on interacting with her and later serving as a conduit for her to understand the rest of the crew. I also have no doubt that she has helped to regulate and mature Trip at the same time. If not for her influence on him I'm not sure he would make a good starship captain. Now, with her, I have no doubt of his ability to do so."

She smiled at him ["opposites do attract."]

He smiled back "I don't know, sometimes those with things in common attract as well."

She smiled again and then fixed his gaze ["does that mean that I won't ever have another nasty surprise from you again?"]

He nodded "now that I know how important it is to you I will make sure you are first to know of my future career developments. I expect the same in return!"

She nodded back ["Sir, yes Sir, and Commodore, sweet dreams."]

She gave him those "bedroom eyes" of hers and he winced in mock pain as he clutched his chest. "Right before bed Erika? You're so cruel!"

She giggled at his play acting ["goodnight Jon."]

"Goodnight gorgeous."

The screen went blank. Jon swiveled around to stare out at the passing space particles through his ready room porthole.

 _"Well, I finally found a benefit to being stationed on Earth. It doubles my chances of seeing Erika off duty."_

It was rare for either Enterprise or Columbia to go back to Earth. It was even rarer for them both to be in the same place. At least if he was already on Earth his chances to see her increased. Plus, once Enterprise's refit was done it would soon be Columbia's turn. That's at least a few weeks with Erika. Then a few months later, once Columbia's "potbelly" was ready they might get a whole month or more together. He finally had found a silver lining to his reassignment, and he would take all of those he could ge _t._


	6. Chapter 6

Time had no meaning to Trip Tucker. The seconds, minutes, hours, and days came and went in his mind; but time itself meant nothing to the man. All that mattered to him was her and all that mattered to her was him. Since opening their minds fully to one another they had lost themselves in the nooks and crannies of their beloved one's conscience. In this state of mental and physical union, they could explore each other in a way that neither would have dreamed of our allowed through mere words and actions. She had laid herself open to him like never before. Trip explored her life through her own eyes and memories.

 _"_ _Lake Sol-Kot is so blue!"_ they thought as one. Trip could feel T'Mir's wrinkled but strong hand holding theirs as they watched Vulcans' three suns disappear slowly beyond the western edge of that world's largest freshwater lake.

 _"_ _Sa-mehk"_ they said together as Trip felt her father's love seep through the slightest of smiles at her.

 _"_ _Ko-mehk will chide us both if she sees us playing our special game again",_ their minds said together.

Then he felt her pain as they looked down upon the corpse of her father laid out for viewing before cremation.

 _"_ _Sa-mehk, we still need you. Why did you leave us? Ko-mehk is broken. I am alone now. Only you understood me."_

Trip then saw a face he recognized from his own life experiences.

 _"_ _Ko-mehk, I want your approval so much. I always have. This Human is perfect for me and I need him so much. It burns when I displease you but it hurts to not have him as mine. Please approve of him!"_

She then saw his memories of the same time.

 _"_ _Are you in love with my daughter?"_

 _"...y_ _es"_

 _"_ _Then you should tell her, she deserves to have all the information."_

 _"_ _OH T'HY'LA! My brave and sacrificing Ashal! You should have told me, love. I hurt you so much!"_

She let him feel her emotions from that day. Pity for Koss as a tool for his parents.

 _"_ _I can never love you. He is all for me and I will die with his name on my lips."_

Resentment for Koss's parents.

Anger toward her mother _"_ _If you would speak up for me I would not have to do this to him, to myself. Is your career so important that you would sacrifice your daughter to this mockery?"_

 _"_ _I was so wrong about her! If I had known she approved of you! If I had known that she was protecting the Syrannites! Oh, mother so much left unsaid between us."_

Then they were running through the jungles of Risa.

 _"_ _I cannot allow you to escape, you will be returned to Vulcan to face judgment."_

Then they fired the phaser and the suspect went down. Then the remorse swelled up within them.

 _"_ _No, what have I done?"_

Next, they were in her quarters. They were looking at his own face. He felt anger, desire, lust, jealousy, and…..love, intense and powerful love and they could stand it no more. They kissed him. Then they rose and dropped their robe from off their shoulders as they watched his own reflection looking back dumbfounded in amazement.

 _"_ _I could not hold back any longer, she would have taken you from me, and I could not stop myself. I need you so much."_

As if being awakened from a coma he fell away from their shared dream. He realized quickly that she had kicked him out. He looked up at her with painful resentment.

"What did you do that for? I didn't want to leave!"

She looked down on him with anger and smacked him across the face. She didn't use her full strength but she did want him to feel it. He clenched his teeth against the pain and managed not to give her the satisfaction of a vocal reaction. She pushed herself off of him with authority leaving him exposed and moist. He rolled over to watch her angrily move toward the table. She picked up a Granny Smith apple and ripped into it with her teeth. With her free, hand she poured herself a glass of water.

As the pain subsided Trip became aware of a new sort of pain. The new and improved mental link between them would never allow her to completely cut him off as she had before, but the only thing she was transmitting now was rage and jealousy.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you mad at me?"

She finally turned to glare at him. Then she threw the apple at his head. It grazed the side of his hair as he rolled out of its original flight path.

He stared back at her with a hurt expression "what the hell, woman?"

"SEVEN!" she screamed at him as she picked up a pear and began devouring it; her eyes flaring with rage, never breaking eye contact with him.

The wave of anger that accompanied her outburst hit him harder than that apple would have.

"Seven what? What have I done to piss you off so much?" he pleaded with her. He always hated disappointing her but this almost felt like a physical pain in his gut.

She leered at him like he was an idiot.

"Seven females! You have mated with seven females! Disgusting! How could you? Are you an animal with no self-control?"

Trip blinked, trying to comprehend why that would anger her. Apparently, he was still fully transmitting his thoughts to her as she explained it to him in a clearer manner.

"You mated with seven females, voluntarily! It's unheard of on Vulcan to want to mate with more than one!"

Trip was beginning to understand, he had to fix this one quickly.

"T'pol, for a previously unmarried HUMAN male in his thirties, seven…encounters…..is actually quite very little."

She was not impressed. "That's no excuse for YOU! If everyone was spacing themselves out an airlock would you join them too?"

Trip's eyes went wide at that. "DO NOT QUOTE MY MOTHER! That's just...creepy!"

Her lips went up in a mocking smile while her eyes still transmitted pure anger. She had hit a nerve within him and was obviously proud of it.

He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and was ready to surrender.

"Alright T'pol, what can I do to fix this?"

"NOTHING" she yelled back "I will just have to live with the fact that you did not wait for me."

She began to sob which quickly devolved into full force bawling.

 _"_ _Wow! Phlox said she would have mood swings but DAMN!"_ Trip thought as he rose to embrace her. She made it clear his advances were unwanted.

"Sweetie, let me fix this, let me make it better. Please, I know you're disappointed in me. I only want to make you proud of me from now on. I've only been with seven women including you. No more! No one but you ever again! Please?"

She stopped suddenly as if the Pon Farr had ended and logical, controlled T'pol was suddenly back again. She took a swig of her water and then looked him in the eye with not even a hint of an emotion showing through. The bond went calm as her anger was replaced only by curiosity.

"No T'hy'la, you have been with eight women total. Me and seven OTHERS."

Trip blinked again "No….I've only been with seven women, including you."

She sat on the bed beside him and handed him the water. He drank it down. Then he felt her thoughts again and realized who she thought was the extra one on her list of his previous lovers.

"Oh good Lord, all I did was stick my hands in a bowl of rocks! How in the world was I supposed to know that was mating to them? Ah'len didn't even tell me what was going on!" His exasperation at her including this in his list of "conquests" was near anger, but he also remembered how forcefully she had chided him when his "delicate condition" became apparent.

She was sharing thoughts with him again too, _"You also received gratification from the encounter, and yes, of all your…..'_ conquests _?'….it counts the most or have you forgotten that it resulted in the first case in your species of a male becoming pregnant?"_

"Well it surely wasn't SEXUAL gratification" was all he could say in his defense.

She cocked a slender eyebrow at him and he could sense her skepticism through the bond.

She was not through making her point. "We should also not forget 'her majesty'."

Trip had no defense for this one. She could feel him shrink back from this topic. "Look" he started "Kaitaama…happened. I have no excuse for that, but It's not like I realized you even liked me like that back then."

He could literally see her staring over Jon's shoulder and looking down on the two of them half naked. He could feel her hurt feelings at that moment. He was ashamed to look at her then and now. _"I didn't realize you had feelings for me way back then."_

Her sadness washed over their bond but he could also feel her begin to forgive him. He tried to mollify her again "I know it's no excuse baby, but it's really not a large number for a Human male my age."

She looked back at him with a slight smirk. "I am unfortunately quite aware of that fact. That does little to abate my…discomfort over it. There also, of course, are your less successful pursuits while aboard Enterprise that I had to witness, Liana and of course…..her."

She almost spit out that "her" and Trip didn't need to ask who "her" was. T'pol was quite clear on who "her" was and Trip felt happy to drop the issue at that point without comment. T'pol, on the other hand, was not.

"You are aware that the Captain has already granted Ensign Amanda Cole a position back aboard Enterprise when we next return to Earth?" she asked.

Trip thought this might be a good point to deflect this issue. "Ensign? She's graduated from OCS already? That was quick."

T'pol squinted at him with what almost looked like pity.

 _"_ _I can't keep anything from you now, can I?"_ He asked her through the bond.

"No T'hy'la, so not attempting too will reduce our mutual mental stress", she replied out loud.

She then answered his question "she will graduate by the time we return."

Trip pondered that for a second "wonder how she feels about returning to Enterprise?"

That was the wrong thing to ask as T'pol's anger started to reassert itself.

"Why do you give a damn what 'she' thinks?"

Trip moved to defend himself "honey, I don't really care what she thinks but its bound to be awkward. I'm surprised she wants to even come back here is all."

T'pol was now focused on Amanda. "She had best watch her step when she gets back on board, I would hate for her to have an 'unfortunate accident'."

The venom transmitted between their minds shocked Trip. T'pol felt his shock and moved to quail his concerns.

"Obviously, I would not allow myself to feel that way EXCEPT during the Pon Farr. Let us just say that it's a good thing she is not currently onboard Enterprise. Still, I hope she will focus her libido elsewhere, or I will, calmly, refocus it for her if she does not."

Trip relaxed but only slightly "I don't know sweetie, you weren't exactly what one would call 'calm' for a Vulcan the last time Amanda showed interest in me."

Thoughts of her Trellium D addition flashed across her mind and she suppressed those thoughts as quickly as her Pon Farr induced reduced mental capacities would allow. Trip was able to just get a glimmer of her apprehension though.

"What"s that?" he asked her.

She noted to herself that she might need to work harder on her blocking abilities once the Pon Farr was over. "It is in relation to the difficulties I experienced in the Expanse. It is something that I will eventually discuss with you T'hy'a, but now is not the time."

She was relieved to feel his acceptance of her unwillingness to explore that errant thought, and he was happy to move on from the previous discussion. Then a new thought crossed his mind.

"So…seven, I mean eight….encounters, is excessive for a Vulcan?"

She nodded in response. She could feel where this question was going and decided to not waste time.

"Yes, you are my first and only sexual encounter."

His level of surprise and delight sent a chill of pleasure through her.

"Baby, your sixty-seven years old. How in the world did you go that long without…..I mean, don't get me wrong! The fact that I'm your only one….."

"Sexually excites you" she finished for him with curiosity and frustration.

"Well," he responded "yeah, it does. I can't imagine going six and a half decades without…and you…gave that gift to me!"

There was something T'pol assumed Humans would call sweet and innocent about his joy over being her first and most likely only mate.

 _"_ _Perhaps now, T'hy'la"_ she projected into his mind _"you understand why your multiplicity of encounters at your relatively young age has distressed me?"_

He smiled at her "I wish I had waited now. If I had known that you would be waiting for me the wait would have been worth it!"

She began to tear up under the weight of his love for her. She quickly embraced him and held him tightly to her. She wrapped her legs and arms around him. He stroked her back and kissed the nape of her neck lightly. Then he jumped in surprise at her next thoughts and locked eyes with her. She didn't blink once as she responded logically past her slight tears.

"It's only natural considering that I'm in Pon Farr and that reproduction IS the purpose of the Pon Farr that I would desire to have a child most at this time. Elizabeth T'Mir also brought out my maternal desires and instincts. My…admiration for you…"

"You mean LOVE" he corrected her.

"Yes, Ashal, my LOVE for you also makes me wish that my birth control would…..be inadequate."

He was surprised and delighted to know she wanted to even have his children. She decided that was the proper response and gave him a smile as a reward. That melted his resolve even further and she could feel him physically responding to their mutual desire for eventual parenthood rising up under neither her.

She then stepped off of him and pulled him to his feet.

"We can restart our 'practice' for eventual impregnation in a few minutes. While I still have some control over my emotions we should both eat. I believe the Doctor brought us some additional sustenance while we were asleep."

He smiled down at her as she held his hand and they moved toward the dining area hatchway. Her legs trembled from the physical exertions of the day and he wrapped his arm around her to steady her. She gave him another smile as they both thought as one.

 _"_ _How fortunate I am to have you."_

* * *

Malcolm had no idea why he was dreaming about music.

 _"If that's my alarm it should be a blaring siren, not Mozart."_

He cracked his left eye open and saw the streaming particle field of wrap speed passing from right to left through the viewport on the bulkhead.

 _"That's odd too. My quarters don't have a viewport."_

The alarm was soon turned off by his bed partner. He took in a deep breath of Hoshi's fragrant hair and tightened his left arm around her slightly as they both let out a satisfied sigh.

 _"HOSHI!"_

He suddenly bolted upright in bed, fully awake at the realization that he was in her quarters, and in bed with her too.

...naked.

His sudden movement caused her to stir a bit.

"It's only o-five forty-five Malcolm, lay back down", she said in a groggy yet sultry voice.

"O-FIVE FORTY-FIVE!" That was more shocking to him than having slept with her and it was a significantly less pleasant reality. He let go of her and jumped out of bed to begin searching the relative darkness for his clothes.

She was awake now too and was not amused at his reaction.

"It's too late now Mister 'I get up at zero-four hundred every day'. You might as well enjoy my company for another fifteen minutes."

"I'm sorry Hoshi, I would love to, believe me; but I always, ALWAYS, start my rounds by zero-four thirty. My absence this morning I'm sure has been noted by the Gamma shift tactical crew."

She giggled as she rolled back over "they're probably having a party because of it."

Malcolm was in too much of a hurry to be bated by her teasing words. Once he had his uniform on he darted into her bathroom to make sure he could walk to his quarters and look like he hadn't slept elsewhere. He hoped she didn't mind that he used her hairbrush. To his surprise, she then called out to him that he could use her brush. As he emerged from the lavatory she was sitting on the edge of the bed stretching her perfect naked body out. He stared at her in surprised admiration. She looked up and smiled at him.

"I know you Malcolm Reed! Don't even try to get odd or weird on me because of this. I don't care that you're a Lieutenant and I'm an Ensign and I don't care that we're colleagues. I wanted it and I STILL want more and so do you! Now I know we have to limit this and be discrete, but this is just the first encounter and we ARE going to have more of them. Is that understood MISTER?"

Malcolm was taken aback by the normally shy Hoshi's forceful demeanor, but she knew exactly what to say to alleviate his concerns. He smiled back and replied with a salute "Yes ma'am! Crystal clear ma'am!"

She smiled broadly as she rolled over on her stomach and licked her lips. "You, Lieutenant, have one more duty to perform here before you report for your shift."

"Hoshi, we don't have time…."

"NOW MISTER! Before I get angry! You'd like me far too much if I got angry!"

 _"Well, perhaps there is a little time for this",_ he thought as he pulled his clothes back off.

* * *

As Malcolm Reed walked onto the Bridge to begin his duty shift he noticed that despite his fifteen minute lead time, all of the Alpha shift's crew, including the Captain, were already at their posts, even his sleeping partner from the previous night. Apparently she had beaten him to the mess hall and grabbed something to go before he got his scone and morning tea. He admitted to himself that not being able to have breakfast with her had been a disappointment. On average Hoshi and Travis were guaranteed to be later than Malcolm to the Bridge and the Captain rarely sat in the command chair this early in the day. The fact that they were all ready so soon instantly put Malcolm on notice something was amiss.

Hoshi briefly glanced up at him with that slight, seductive smile of hers. Malcolm could feel his cheeks begin to flush as he tried hard not to look at her. His reaction made her blush a bit and she quirked her mouth up to the right in what appeared to be an attempt to bite the inside of her cheek.

Ensign Vasquez rose out of the tactical station seat so Malcolm could take her place. As she did so she handed him the Gamma shift duty PADD. Malcolm read it briefly and in their usual habit, simply looked up to see that the Captain was ready to answer his unspoken question.

"ECA Central lost contact with the ECS New Hope three days ago. Admiral M'benga asked us to investigate as it was along our general course." The Captain stated.

Malcolm quirked his head to the side slightly as he debated whether to ask the Captain his next question. As Chief Tactical Officer, he had access to the same security information that the Captain and T'pol would view daily. The Captain had made him aware the day before of the Romulan situation; but unless something had changed overnight, only he and the Captain were currently in that "need to know" loop. He decided to see if the Captain had had his coffee yet by asking him a round-a-bout question to get at the answer he needed.

"Raiders Sir?"

Jon smiled bitterly at Malcolm "that's one assumption Lieutenant, but it's a bit odd to completely lose contact with a cargo ship after a raid and it would be the first such raid ever on this particular trade route."

Malcolm had his answer "Sir, I'd like your permission to initiate a broad spectral range tachyon distribution scan."

They had been running the standard types of long-range scans, but the tachyon scan would extend the range by nearly a light year. The drawback was that it would require a small shift in power distribution to support the scanning operation. It had the added benefit of being capable of detecting unusual electromagnetic distortions, the same kind of distortions that could be expected to result from a cloaking device in operation at warp speeds.

Jon nodded his consent and Malcolm made the necessary adjustments in ship's systems to compensate for the power redistribution. As he finished he noticed his message communicator flashing. He looked up from it when he saw it was Hoshi. She avoided direct contact for a few seconds but when they briefly locked eyes it was clear she was waiting for him to respond. He began to type his reply.

["There's nothing to worry about at this point. It is unusual for contact to be lost and not restored by now when a cargo ship is attacked by Raiders so we're just being cautious."]

It was then that he noticed Travis was also sending messages and by the brief eye contact he made with Hoshi, it was clear they also were having a conversation. As the ship's resident Boomer, Travis was better qualified to answer questions about ECA related topics than anyone else aboard. There was no doubt that nothing about this situation set right with him. He decided to include Travis in communication with Hoshi.

["Look you two, at this point, we can only assume that its Raiders, but you should both be on your toes anyway. Hoshi, I need you to monitor the traffic bands and distortion bands for anything unusual. Travis, I could use a second pair of eyes helping me with the long-range sensor readings."]

Travis looked over his shoulder at Malcolm and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement. Hoshi simple shot him her "I don't like this" look. Malcolm winked his right eye at her which made her giggle. Travis and the Captain both looked at her as she parlayed the giggle quickly into a throat clearing. Malcolm blushed at his achievement before becoming serious once more as Travis and the Captain turned their attention next to his own slightly rosier facial complexion.

 _"Now where was I?"_ he asked himself to help distract his mind as much as to get back to the task at hand. Getting back on track, he issued orders down to the Armory to add an additional tactical systems drill to each of the new four shifts. The Captain had decided to delay implementation of the new four shift rotation for a few days so that the crew would have time to adjust their schedules. Malcolm knew it was unpopular, especially with the day shift who now had to either get up an hour earlier or work until twenty hundred hours in the evening; yet Malcolm was certain that after the adjustment the crew would function much more efficiently in the long term.

The next few hours passed without incident as the Enterprise continued scanning through regional space and proceeding at warp three point eight. It had been quite a while since the sensors had detected anything and Malcolm was now deep into the myriad of reports he read through from all departments. Being the unofficial acting First Officer required more minutia reading than even being acting ship's commander had. Malcolm had had no idea how much fluff T'pol filtered out and handled herself before the Captain ever saw it. He wished for Vulcan-like patience now to help him wade through the sea of requests, requisitions, and secondary and even tertiary systems reports.

It was at that exact moment the indicator chime chirped at him that it had detected something about point five light years off Enterprise's port bow. He, Travis, and Ensign Li at the science station all began reading the incoming data. Ensign Li turned to the Captain after her examination to report their mutual findings.

"Sir, the tachyon scan has detected several metallic objects approximately point four five light years away. The total mass readings are consistent with a vessel the size of a fully loaded T-Class cargo carrier."

Jon blinked a bit as her words sank in "you said TOTAL mass Ensign?"

Ensign Li looked back with remorse on her face "yes Sir, the total mass of the multiple objects would be the equivalent mass of a fully loaded T-Class cargo carrier."

Jon nodded grimly in acknowledgement. Travis turned back to face him "Sir, should I plot an intercept course?"

Jon nodded his assent "warp four point five Travis."

Malcolm chimed in "Sir, may I recommend setting the ship on tactical alert? We have no idea what we could be walking into."

Jon nodded at that too "Set tactical alert Mr. Reed. Time to intercept Travis?"

"Eighteen minutes Sir" replied Enterprise's chief helmsman.

Enterprise slowed to impulse speed once it was in range of the debris field. The mood on the Bridge went from high anxiety to bitter resignation. There was no mistaking the two relatively large warp three capable nacelles that once propelled the massive cargo ship upwards toward that velocity. Both of them now floated free in space, nothing but minute debris marked what once had to have been the operations and crew sections of the ECS New Hope. Between them was a mass of twisted metal alloys, ripped apart by the unmistakable force of an internal antimatter explosion. Drifting freely behind the scene of destruction were the remains of twelve cargo pods and the broken sections of connection structure that once bound them together. Strawn between them was a cornucopia of containers and cargo items floating around the pods remains like multiple tiny moons around a destroyed planet.

Ensign Li broke the silence "No active escape pods detectable Sir. No life signs registering on sensors."

Travis spoke up "Sir, we won't find any life signs. Every part of this ship that could have sustained life was purposefully breached. Look at the cargo pods. All that cargo! If it had been Raiders Sir, they would have never breached the pods, even if they intended to destroy the ship itself. Whoever did…..THIS…..had no interest in the cargo. They only wanted to kill the crew and destroy the ship."

The look of disgust across the Captain's face told any who looked at him that he agreed with the former Boomer's assessment of this horrible situation. "Ensign Li, Malcolm, collect all the info you can. Let's hope beyond hope that Travis is wrong this once and someone is still in there somewhere. We need to find their data recorder if possible. Malcolm, anything else out there on tactical sensors?"

The Lieutenant had already performed several scans as soon as they had entered the range of the debris field. "No Sir, nothing on tactical" he answered grimly. The Captain continued "can you determine the type of weapon used to do….this?"

Malcolm and his Captain exchanged a knowing look. Jon knew then who had done this horrible crime. He nodded slightly to Malcolm to indicate that it was time to let the crew know exactly who they were dealing with. "Sir, the tactical analysis indicates disruptor fire consistent with the type and yield known to be used by the Romulans."

A silent hush fell over the Bridge. Hoshi and Malcolm locked eyes as he wordlessly tried to reassure her that everything would be alright.

"Malcolm" the Captain stated "we will remain on tactical alert for the duration of our journey to Bolarus Prime. I'll be in my ready room preparing my reports to Starfleet and the ECA. Find the data recorder if possible and run all scans available. We'll leave as soon as you're satisfied we have all we can get. Proceed to Bolarus Prime at warp four when we're done Travis."

"Aye, Sir" they both replied.

Twenty minutes later Malcolm reported to the Captain that the data recorder had been found but was useless. The Romulans apparently had no trouble identifying and destroying it. The Enterprise left the New Hope"s remains at its stern as she warped back on course to Bolarus Prime and Jon Archer sat down to finish his report on the sad fate of what very well may be the first casualties of an Earth-Romulan conflict.

* * *

Phlox could feel the shift in the atmosphere as he moved down the corridor toward the galley. Enterprise and her sister ship Columbia were the two most advanced vessels in Earth's Starfleet, but they only had a crew of around one hundred and twenty persons on average and it didn't take news long to make it across the entire ship.

On his way toward the mess hall for breakfast this morning the crew had been their normal almost jovial selves. Sure there had been some grousing about the impending move to four duty shifts and even some complaints that Acting First Officer Reed was enough to make them want T'pol back, but on average everyone was content and happy.

 _"What a difference a bad morning can make!"_

The discovery of the broken remains of the ECS New Hope and who was suspected to be responsible for that tragedy had thrown a dampening field across crew morale. Most moved with purpose under the tactical alert now in place, silent and determined but also clearly concerned. Phlox himself was not immune from the negative effects. He halfway expected Romulan soldiers blasting away with their disruptors around every bend of the hallway. Of course, seeing how no Denobulan, Vulcan, or Human had ever knowingly set eyes on a Romulan, he had to let his imagination run wild as to their potential appearance.

The air on the ship felt denser and stagnant, and if he didn't know better he would have thought the gravity plating had been increased to near Vulcan standards. All in all, it was an extremely depressing situation.

He realized that he had to pull himself out of this communal depression before he took the Commanders their daily rations. T'pol was in an emotionally vulnerable state and Trip probably wasn't much better. She would be susceptible to the slightest of mood swings in her psychically bonded mate, so he could ill afford to have Commander Tucker suspect anything was wrong. If he was lucky he would only see Trip, T'pol in Pon Farr being less than tolerant of his presence. Today though he hoped to repeat the previous two days and not see either one of them. The likelihood that he would transmit his own concerns to either would set them both off on unproductive mental and emotional tangents. He was positive that despite the circumstances on G Deck both Commanders would still be concerned about what was going on outside of that deck. If he did see Trip he halfway expected to be bombarded with questions.

As he entered the galley he was surprised to see Hoshi and Malcolm sharing lunch together on stools beside the small tray outcropping in the entrance way to the galley proper.

He smiled brightly at them "Lieutenant, Ensign, a pleasant surprise to see you two eating lunch here in the galley!"

From the look of them both, either they didn't get enough sleep the night before, had a rough morning, or a combination of both. Phlox suspected "both" was the most likely answer. They both smiled weakly up at the Doctor.

Hoshi greeted him "Chef was kind enough to let us eat lunch in here. The mess hall isn't exactly the most relaxing place today. We didn't really feel like answering questions all lunch either." At that comment, the Lieutenant nodded agreement as he placed his sandwich back down on the plate.

Malcolm then spoke up "here to retrieve the Commanders' daily rations?"

"Indeed I am" Phlox replied, practicing the jovial nature he would soon be using on Trip to insure the Commander's minimal distraction from his most important duty.

"I assume they are recovering nicely?" Malcolm asked. Usually, the complicit Ensign Hoshi Sato would have exchanged a knowingly conspiratorial smile at her cohort just outside of the Lieutenant's perception range, but she was non-responsive as she used her chopsticks to grab up more noodles.

Phlox answered Malcolm "they are still quite contagious but both appear to be responding well to their treatment and I am delighted to report that their mutual appetites have increased several fold!"

Hoshi finally looked up wide-eyed at the Doctor with noodles flowing into her mouth. Her blinking eyes indicated the irony at which she took the Doctor's statements about the "increased appetites" of the Commanders.

"In fact" Phlox continued "I'm taking so much food down there now that I need a cart!"

Malcolm smiled at that, content that his friends were recovering well "when can we expect the Commanders to return to duty Doctor? I had no idea how tedious being First Officer was before this!" To emphasis his point he sat a PADD he was holding in his right hand down on top of a stack of four just like it. Phlox realized then how rare it was to see T'pol, while on duty, without a PADD in her hands. "An Executive Officers work is never done" was a statement that bridged many cultures among the crews of vessels since the beginnings of sentient organized travels.

"Hard to say with certainty but no sooner than four more days" Phlox answered. Malcolm replied with a heavy sigh "very well."

Hoshi then gently stroked the Lieutenant's left forearm with her right hand to console him. They locked eyes and smiled at each other in a way Phlox would often smile when he thought of one or all of his three wives.

 _"Very, very interesting!"_ he thought to himself as his smile involuntarily exceeded the limits of any Human face. Under the glare of his beaming smile, Hoshi and Malcolm recoiled into official decorum.

 _"Too late my friends!"_ Phlox beaming smile would not go away. As he recognized his own mood shifting toward positive again at this new revelation he thought _"well I shouldn't have any trouble convincing the Commanders everything is alright now!"_

Just then Chef peeked his head around the corner and indicated the presence of not one but two carts for G Deck distribution. Phlox acknowledged him with a nod of thanks. Just then the two officers rose from their stools, both done with their midday meals.

"Ensign" Phlox continued to grin "if you wouldn't mind I could use a hand with the extra cart if you can spare a brief foray to G Deck?"

With Malcolm behind her, she smirked at the Doctor, knowing that he wished to grill her about the warm sequence of events between her and Malcolm that he had just witnessed. Not betraying her at all to the Lieutenant, Phlox merely continued to smile at her indulgently. With a conspiratorial glare, she answered "not at all Doctor. More than happy to help."

The sudden look of alarm that flashed across Malcolm's face at the thought of Hoshi being exposed to the same debilitating and potentially fatal virus that now was incapacitating the Commanders clearly caused him great concern.

"Doctor, I hope you plan to make Ho….Ensign Sato, wear an environmental protection suit before she enters G Deck?"

Hoshi turned back wide-eyed at the Lieutenant, worried she had already exposed the Commanders' secret medical "Honeymoon" but Phlox answered in stride. "Forgive me, Lieutenant, I didn't mean to startle you, I only need the Ensign to help me get the carts to the turbolift. I'm sure I can handle it once on G Deck."

The Lieutenant and the Ensign both relaxed, for different but related reasons. "Very good Doctor, I'll leave you two to it. See you on the Bridge Ensign" and with a curt nod to both, he was on his way.

* * *

Hoshi and Phlox each pushed one cart apiece out of the galley and toward the rear of E Deck. Hoshi, having confirmed no one was in earshot, asked Phlox "I assume you want me to go with you down there?"

He looked back over his shoulder with a shy grin "If you wouldn't mind?"

"I don't know" she replied sarcastically "don't want to catch anything from those two down there."

Phlox"s ridiculous grin and snorted laughter almost split his head into two halves "looks to me like you AND the Lieutenant may have already been 'infected' to the Commanders'...'condition'. Perhaps you would like me to quarantine the two of you, TOGETHER, as well?"

She smiled sheepishly back at him, avoiding direct eye contact as her face flushed. She replied to his gentle jab "I could think of worst things to do on a week off. Perhaps you and Elizabeth might need to be checked out too?" He merely squinted at her and pursed his lips in a wry reply to her glancing blow, which only made her chuckle more.

In the turbolift they had just enough room for them and both carts. The second the door closed shut Phlox was on it. "So, tell me all about your 'condition'! I'm your Doctor; I need details to make a proper diagnosis!"

She smiled with a look of irony at him "really Phlox? Shouldn't you concentrate on one set of patients at a time?"

Phlox laughed lightly at himself "I can't help myself Hoshi, helping my 'patients' makes ME feel better!"

She looked on indulgently at him "Let's just say it's a fresh wound and I need more time to assess how deep I struck him with the 'initial blow'."

Phlox smiled at her and nodded his understanding as the turbolift door slid open. They had the carts halfway into the corridor when Hoshi's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. After T'pol, Hoshi Sato had perhaps the best hearing on Enterprise. She had nearly twice the hearing range and distance of a normal Human. Phlox had no doubt that was one of the reasons she had become one of the Human species most prolific linguistic experts. She, however, needed none of that enhanced ability to hear Commander T'pol's shouted words through the solid bulkheads.

Phlox too could hear them and felt fortunate that unlike Hoshi he did not understand a word of the Vulcan language. He also felt fortunate that the Commanders were fully "engaged" with each other and not noticing their visitors presence.

He smiled at the shocked visage Hoshi had across her face "oh good, their back to business again. It makes it much less likely they'll notice us on the deck if they are 'together' so to say. However, T'pol's nose is still fully functional. Considering that I'm a male and she has attempted to decapitate me already, I seriously doubt she would another female's presence 'comforting'. I'll slide these through the unused quarters. You wait right here, alright?"

Hoshi's shocked expression never changed but she bobbed her head to acknowledge him. He pushed both carts down the hallway and put them one at a time into the unused guest room. Just as he finished with the second cart the Commander's exertions and words became more frantic and erratic. Phlox beat a hasty retreat with an empty cart towards the turbolift only to see Hoshi's face in even more shock than before. Considering the intent with which T'pol was vocalizing, Phlox imagined that if Hoshi and he didn't get onto the turbolift in a hurry, they would overhear a moment that neither of them should ever want to hear. He pulled the stunned Ensign by the forearm into the turbolift as T'pol was near her most intent exclamations.

Phlox breathed a deep sigh of relief as the turbolift door closed shut and the lift lurched upward "and that Ensign is why they have been quarantined!"

Hoshi was still dumbfounded "I never thought I would hear such things said in the Vulcan language. I didn't even think that there were Vulcan words for most of the things she said! I never thought I'd ever hear HER say such things."

Phlox's curiosity got the better of him "well don't just stop there! What is it she"s saying?"

Hoshi turned to meet his eyes finally "I'm not sure that either of them would appreciate me repeating her words, but I will say this. She was enjoying herself, greatly, and she knew we were there, too."

Phlox was not surprised in the least by this news.

"What in all creation was she saying?"

Hoshi just nodded.

Phlox was getting frustrated "well, what was she screaming about us?"

Hoshi just shook her head at him "you don't want to know."

Phlox pouted at her obstinacy. The turbolift opened onto E Deck and the Doctor stepped off with the cart. He turned one more time to try to get Hoshi to tell him what T'pol had said. She was just starring at the turbolift wall and shaking her head. Phlox smiled at her and decided to let it go at that.

* * *

Bolarus Prime was blue. Not blue like Earth was mostly blue with green and brown and beige landforms. Nor blue like Andor, which was white and blue. No, Bolarus Prime was ALL BLUE. The oceans were blue, the land was blue, the mountains were blue, even the clouds were blue. Everything was a different shade of blue but they were all blue. As Jon Archer stared at the view screen he couldn't help but notice all the different shades of blue the world below had to offer. It was well known that most Bolians were themselves blue. Looking at the projected image of their homeworld, Jon could barely imagine any creature that developed on this world would be anything but blue. What was very curious about the blue inhabitants of this world was that most of the creatures had a vertical ridge that ran the length of their torsos and heads. When asked what the purpose of the body splitting ridge was, all Phlox had to offer was that it was a genetic trait of this world's creatures and that it was no different than Humans having a split between the gluteus muscles.

Hoshi spoke up "Sir, we're being hailed, It's the Sooba'Dar."

"Everyone presentable?" Jon asked the Bridge crew. Malcolm and Travis gave themselves the once over before nodding. The female crewmen were already confident of their appearances. "Alright Hoshi, main viewer," the Captain said with a nod.

As the image shifted from that of the blue world below Enterprise to the smiling face of a very blue and bifurcated older woman with long silver braids flowing out from either side of her ridge bisected head Jon was taken aback by her "blueness". Andorians were blue and thanks to Shran Jon had become quite used to them and their emotionally dynamic antenna. Shran had told him that Andorians from their equatorial regions tended to be a darker shade of blue. The Bolians, on the other hand, were a different shade of blue all together. The Sooba'Dar herself was without a doubt the bluest looking blue he had ever seen. He would have called her complexion Royal Blue.

["All greetings and salutations to the warriors and explorers of Earth's Starfleet. On behalf of my people, I welcome thee to Bolarus Magnificent. We consider it a great honor that the good people of Earth have sent their greatest vessel and their most well renowned warrior-explorer hero, Jonathan Eugene Archer, Hammer of the Xindi, Smasher of Spheres, to make first official contact with our humble selves. The honor your world does us with your presence is beyond our worth."]

The shock of her explicit and grandiose greeting was only exceeded by her usage of the Captain's much-disliked middle name. Malcolm, who had never even known the Captain had a middle name, looked to Hoshi and silently mouth "EUGENE" at her. She meekly grinned at that. The Captain himself had turned a slight shade of red. Whether it was because of the Sooba'Dar's glowing praise of his feats or embarrassment over the use of his much disliked middle name was a matter of debate for even Jon himself. After a hard swallow to reestablish his composure the Captain recovered quickly.

"All greetings and salutations to the honored inhabitants of Bolarus Magnificent from the humble people of Earth. The honor you do us in accepting our overtures of friendship and communion is most gratifying. The honor you do me, in particular, is most humbling and undeserved. We are your most honored supplicants." Jon then bowed from the waste and simultaneously turned both palms upward in the traditional Bolian greeting posture to one of superior social rank.

The Sooba'Dar's smiling face went stern as she examined the Captain's posture and position with the eyes of an expert. Then, with a slightly raised eyebrow, she said "very nice Jonathan". As Archer rose with a smile on his face she turned her gaze to his left. "You're the Communications Officer?" she asked Hoshi. Hoshi rose in surprise over being addressed and after a quick glance at her Captain to verify that he approved of her addressing the Sooba'Dar she answered. "Yes your Majestic Excellency, all greetings and salutations, I am Ensign Hoshi Sato, your humble supplicant" she then repeated the Captain's previous example of the greeting posture. The Sooba'Dar dismissively waved her hand as she responded "no need for that now dear, we can put that entire official greeting stuff behind us. I assume that you are responsible for you Captain's excellent knowledge of our over-ritualized greeting?"

Hoshi smiled at the obvious praise from the Sooba'Dar "the Captain needed very little coaching, which I was happy to assist him with." Jon twitched up a corner of his mouth as he became a third person topic between the two females.

The Sooba'Dar verbally praised the Ensign's work "he did quite well Hoshi, you did fine work. Will he be ready for the official welcome tomorrow?" Jon's submissive grin turned to questioning agitation as he shot the Ensign an irritated glance. Her eyes locked on his momentarily in embarrassed recognition that she had yet to tell him all that was expected of him on the official visit. Then she turned back to the leader of Bolarus Prime. "There are only a few things left for us to cover but he will be ready ma'am."

The Sooba'Dar smiled brightly at her "Excellent young Hoshi". Then she turned back to the Captain "I look forward to meeting you all in person tomorrow. If there's anything any of you need before then please don't hesitate to ask." With a final smile at him she severed the communications link.

Jon turned back towards his Communications Officer with a less diplomatic expression than the one he had just given the Sooba'Dar moments before "what OTHER official welcome rituals do I have to look forward to, Ensign?"

As he sat back into the command chair Hoshi explained "just a few protocol details Sir, nothing too elaborate."

He looked at her with barely veiled skepticism on his face.

Just as she was turning back towards her displays a message indicator flashed. After confirming the call info was direct and on a secure line, she informed the Captain.

"Put it to my ready room"

Jon told her as he left Malcolm in charge of the Bridge. When he had settled in the chair he activated the link.

["Captain Archer I presume? I'm Director McCants, head of the ECA Field Office for Bolarus Prime. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."] Jon nodded back "the pleasure is mine Director. We weren't expecting to hear from you till your arrival on board at eighteen hundred hours for dinner." The head of the ECA in the Bassen Rift smiled back ["afraid I have to cancel dinner Captain. If there's the time for it I hope to come aboard later during the Enterprise's stay here."] Archer smiled back "you're welcome on board anytime. I assume you didn't call to just to tell me that though. What else can I do for you?"

The Director's mood shifted to solemn ["do you have a theory on how the New Hope was destroyed?"] Jon had not been given specific instructions on whether or not the ECA Director was in the need-to-know loop on this. McCants detected the Captain's apprehension and answered the question for him. ["So, you think it's the Rommy's too?"] Jon blinked back but his surprise was only temporary. "Afraid I can't go into too many details Director, but I do believe you will be receiving new instructions to distribute to your crews from ECA Central within the next day or two."

The Director nodded in understanding ["thanks for the info you can give. I imagine in a few more days you'll be able to tell me a slight bit more. I'm to officially become the United Earth Ambassador to Bolarus Prime by the end of your visit."]

Jon was slightly confused "I thought the point of Enterprise coming here was to get the Bolians to give us an embassy in the first place?"

The Director nodded ["Let's just say we have strong reason to believe that your mission will be a great success. All you have to do is make it official and we'll be set."]

"Glad we can help" Jon replied in mild exasperation. The Director could sense his frustration ["I want to assure you that Enterprise's presence is vital to sealing this deal Captain. Plus, we have passengers for you to take back to Earth. The reciprocal Bolian Ambassador and her staff."]

This was a surprise to Jon "Our mission in the Rift will last for another month Director, plus it will take two more months to get back to Earth. Not sure the Ambassador and her staff would appreciate being hauled around for three months. How many people are we talking about?"

The Director was sympathetic to the Captain's plight. ["Thirty individuals Captain, plus I'm willing to bet that Bolarus will be your last scheduled stop in the Rift. You should be receiving confirmation orders from Starfleet soon. I know this was a lot to spring on you, but as I'm sure you know better than most, the changed situation demands swift action."]

The Captain had to do some quick math. Two cargo bays on D deck would need to be converted to sleeping berths. Hoshi would have to review the cultural needs of the Bolians to determine how to berth them properly. It might be necessary to displace some of the crew from their normal quarters to accommodate the passengers. Then there was the problem of where to berth the Ambassador herself. The usual guest quarters were in use and he doubted Trip and T'pol would be ready to vacate before they left orbit. He had planned to berth their OCS candidate in T'pol's quarters till the end of the Pon Farr, but that was now out of the question.

He also was quite angry too. _"Damn it, Raquel promised me more time."_

["I am really sorry to drop this on you like this Captain, but I just found out that I was being 'promoted' to Ambassador and having to set up a brand-spanking-new embassy from scratch three hours ago so we're kind of in the same boat."]

Jon nodded in mutual sympathy "don't worry Mr. Ambassador; Enterprise will be ready for its passengers before we depart."

["That's great Captain. I'll forward the pertinent cultural info so that we can avoid diplomatic issues in their passage. I look forward to seeing you when you get down here tomorrow"] and with that, the soon-to-be new Earth Ambassador to Bolarus Prime closed the link.

Jon lay back in his chair and sighed heavily as he rubbed at his temples. He briefly wondered how else this mission could go sour and then decided it could very quickly get a lot worse. He decided not to ask himself that question again. He instead pushed the comm. button "Phlox?"

["Yes, Captain?"]

"I need to see you, Chef, and the Three Amigos in my ready room. Would you stop by the galley for Chef and when you get to the Bridge pull the rest in here with you?"

["Understood Captain, we're on my way."]

Jon found referring to his command staff's three junior most members by that nickname amused him, especially when calling them that to the Doctor or Trip. T'pol, on the other hand, took some time to get the idea behind the nickname and still did not approve of it. Unlike the nickname for Trip and T'pol, T&T, which carried the more personal aspects of a relationship between the two Commanders with it, Jon felt comfortable using the Three Amigos nickname in public, on occasion.

True to his word, three minutes later the Doctor and Chef walked in with Hoshi, Travis, and Malcolm in tow. Had Trip and T'pol been available this discussion would have had to been held at the tactical station at the back of the Bridge. As it was, his ready room probably was busting at its seems, but he planned to be brief. The gentlemen let Hoshi have the other seat in the office. Once she was settled Jon began.

"We haven't got official orders from Starfleet yet, but I have it on good authority that once we're done helping EarthGov.'s new Ambassador set up his embassy here that we will be returning to Earth immediately. We have the honor of transporting the Bolian Ambassador back home with us, along with thirty-some members of her staff."

Everyone exchanged surprised and concerned looks. Thirty Humans would be a lot to move on a starship with a normal crew of one hundred and twenty. Moving honored dignitaries of another race across three months worth of space was a whole other problem.

Jon looked towards Chef first. "Chef, that's ninety extra meals a day, at least. Do what you have to do to obtain the supplies from the Bolians. I'm sure the ECA down there can put you in touch with the right folks. I know our own supplies of perishables are low too so work with the ECA on that as well. If you need any assistance let Hoshi know." With a nod, Chef left the room.

Not for the first time did it cross the protocol-obsessed mind of Malcolm Reed that Chef was, beside or perhaps even more so than Trip, the most OVERLY familiar person with the Captain. Officially Chef was ranked a Senior Chief Petty Officer, a non-com, which made it even worse that the two men didn't seem to care about proper military decorum between themselves. However, Malcolm also reminded himself that Chef had been pulled back out of civilian life and from a very reputable restaurant In New Orleans which he ran with his brother, just to be Enterprise's Chef. The Captain had served on the same ship with Chef when they were both of lower rank and apparently Chef thought being the head of Enterprise's galley was worth rejoining Starfleet. Malcolm also realized that Chef, still being part owner of that restaurant, was also most likely the wealthiest person on Enterprise. He was knocked out of his thought pattern when the Captain spoke again.

"Hoshi, we need to know all the cultural aspects of the Bolians' living and dietary arrangements. Two plus months is a long time and we don't want their first impressions of Earth's culture to be tainted by our lack of understanding theirs. Travis, since there won't be a lot of piloting involved in orbiting this planet, you get the honor of heading up the conversion of two of our cargo bays into quarters. Hoshi, I'd rather put our guests in there but I want you to make sure that's acceptable for them. If not then enlisted personnel might have to go in there instead. Coordinate with Travis so that he can get started ASAP. Travis, pull whatever crew you need to get those bays turned into guest quarters. We have the better part of three days, but I'd rather have it done sooner. Malcolm" the Captain smiled deviously at him "as acting first officer you get the honor of coordinating the entire effort and, if moving crew out of their quarters are required, as acting head of personnel, you get the honor of telling them so."

Hoshi, Phlox, and Travis joined the Captain in the in-joke smile at an assignment that Malcolm would be most uncomfortable with. Apprehension was stretched across the Lieutenant's face, but he accepted the mission in stride "We'll all do our best, Sir."

Jon nodded in reply "I know you all will. Hoshi, I believe you also have some more details to familiarize me with about our welcome ceremony on Bolarus tomorrow?"

Hoshi nodded "a little bit, yes Sir."

He replied, "Let's do that right after the shift, that way if I have questions tomorrow I'll have time to go over last minute issues with you then." Hoshi replied, "Aye, Sir."

"Doc, no need to tell you your mission. Whatever supplies and info you need from the Bolians to handle their medical needs, I'm sure the ECA can point you to the people in the know."

Phlox smiled back "I'm sure they'll be forthcoming with it. Perhaps I can learn some new treatments to apply in the future as well."

"Sounds good to me Doc" Jon answered. "Do we have any other questions folks?" he asked as he scanned each face. Hoshi piped up at that. "I have a question for the Doctor" she turned toward Phlox "I assume that the Commanders will not be out of the guest quarters by the time our guests arrive?"

Phlox nodded in the affirmative "they're responding well to treatment, but they will need at least a few days longer. I doubt they will be out of quarantine before we leave."

"Sir" Malcolm said to the Captain "In addition to the Ambassador, it's most likely that at least some other members of her senior staff will need regular quarters. We can't expect the Ambassador to bunk with the rest of the staff."

Travis chimed in "we only have two unused quarters appropriate for an Ambassador or other high officials."

Jon nodded "Trip and T'pol's quarters will need to be repurposed. Hoshi, you pack up T'pol's personal items. Travis can handle Trip's. I won't ask the Ambassador to move after settling into a set of quarters so I hope one or both of them really likes the guest quarters because they're stuck bunking down there for the entire trip home."

Hoshi and Phlox exchanged a brief glance between themselves. No doubt they both thought Trip would not mind spending more alone time with his new wife. Whether Commander T'pol would think that advantageous after recovering from her current condition was another question entirely.

"Any other questions?," the Captain asked. When no one spoke up he dismissed them. Travis and Phlox were the first out. As soon as the ready room door had closed Hoshi tucked her hand behind Malcolm's elbow and whispered in his ear "don't worry, if we have to move the crew I'll help you tell them. We can discuss the other aspects over dinner in my quarters at seventeen hundred hours."

Malcolm was about to say that he had other things to do, but Hoshi sent him a look that made it clear that would be a mistake on his part. Somehow she had gotten to know him well enough over the past four years to anticipate his shyness and natural reactions and to know exactly how to diffuse him at every turn. No matter how hard his naturally repressive and introverted instincts tried, they could not overcome her knowledge of him and her skilled reactions to undermine his resistance to her charms. Perhaps he had finally met his match in the game of love. A woman who could block and best him emotionally at every turn. It's not that he didn't want to see her, he was just reluctant to move out of his comfort zone. She, on the other hand, would not allow him to stay in that comfort zone with her and knew just how to pry him out of it. He smiled back and whispered "Aye, ma'am" as they separated toward their respective duty stations without anyone noticing their brief intimacy, both of them smiled brightly at the memory of the previous night and this morning and the prospect of yet another to come.


	7. Chapter 7

ECS Fullerton arrived in the Bolian System at zero-one thirty five hours and parked in geosynchronous orbit over the Bolian trade center of Kadmin'ar seven hours later, placing it relatively near the Enterprise's current position, which was maintaining a geosynchronous orbit over the planetary capital of Sooba'Tal'gon. Shuttlepod Two had joined the small fleet of larger Bolian cargo transport pods that swarmed about the behemoth T-Class Earth cargo vessel. Considering that it was his usual duty shift, it was odd for Travis to have asked his Captain to pilot the shuttle over, but Jon understood. Despite being the premier pilot of Earth's most advanced starship Travis Mayweather would always be a Boomer at heart and undoubtedly wanted to get a good look at the most advanced "civilian" vessel in the Human fleet. His Captain would not deny him this. What should have been a simple pickup assignment somehow took two hours and a half to complete. Jon wondered how much of that was Travis's "inspection tour" and how much was the young recruIt's family and friends wanting to squeeze in every last moment with her they could. The shuttlepod now glided gracefully across the arc of the blue Bolian horizon back to its home in Enterprise's belly.

It wasn't every day that the Captain of a starship would greet an Officer Candidate at the shuttlebay, but as this was the first time an OC ever came aboard Enterprise, the Captain felt it would be worth his time. Hoshi and Malcolm joined Jon as he stepped through the hatchway into the recently repressurized shuttlebay. Travis was already halfway up the gangway to the overhead platform when a pretty and tall redhead with flowing curls emerged from the pod behind him. Travis placed the suitcase he had been carrying on the platform and reached back to take the one she was carrying from her. Jon reached down his hand to help pull her up the gangway the rest of the way. It was only when she had planted both feet on the platform and adjusted herself that she saw the four rank pips on his chest and recognized who had helped her.

"Captain Archer, Sir," she said with shock and wide eyes "It's…an honor to meet you, Sir!"

"Relax" Jon smiled back in amusement "no need for all that protocol just yet." He reached out his hand to shake hers. It took her a minute to realize before she grasped it and gave it a firm pump.

"Victoria Jenkins, welcome aboard Enterprise. Allow me to introduce you to some of my senior officers." Jon indicated toward Hoshi and Malcolm "this is Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Enterprise's Chief Tactical, Security, and Weapons Officer; and this is Ensign Hoshi Sato, our Chief Communications Officer."

Vicki exchanged brief pleasantries and handshakes with them. Jon then grinned broadly at his pilot "of course you've already had plenty of time to get to know our Chief Pilot and Navigator here."

Travis shifted nervously under his Captain's gaze "sorry Sir, afraid that once I was aboard the Fullerton I lost track of the time."

Jon quirked his mouth up to the side enjoying this way too much "somehow I figured you would Ensign."

Turning back toward the young lady the Captain continued their conversation. "I'm afraid that introductions with My First Officer and Chief Engineer will have to wait till they are released from quarantine by our Chief Medical Officer. You'll meet him when you accompany us to the greeting ceremony in a few hours."

She was taken aback by that particular news "you want…..me…there, Sir?"

Jon smiled as he tilted his head in affirmation "with two of my top officers out of commission we need bodies planetside. I'm certain that Hoshi will be able to find you a dress uniform to wear in addition to the duty uniforms you'll need for everyday work. Consider this your first lesson in the multiplicity of tasks that Starfleet expects all its officers to be ready to take on at a moment's notice. You'll have the rank of Acting Ensign while on duty but you'll take orders even from the enlisted personnel and especially from the Petty Officers. Believe me; they don't take kindly to being bossed by junior officers, much less by an officer candidate. We'll all meet back here at eleven hundred hours. Hoshi will get you that uniform and help settle you in your quarters."

Malcolm and Travis followed the Captain back to the Bridge. Hoshi smiled broadly at the somewhat scared young lady "Let's go get you settled in."

The two ladies walked down the corridor, each with one of the suitcases in her hands. As they passed the rest of the crew the male members almost universally took appreciative notice of the attractive newcomer. Hoshi mentally condemned half of her species with one thought, _"men, so obvious"._ She then had the pleasant thought that one male, in particular, showed unusual strength in resisting the temptation to ogle the attractive young beauty. Mr. Reed had pleased her greatly and wouldn't likely ever realize it.

"So" she turned back to the young girl "what made you want to join Starfleet?"

Vicki contemplated the question before answering "Sir, just going from one place to another simply was no longer enough for me."

Hoshi smiled back at her "then you made the right decision. One thing you'll find in Starfleet, we definitely do more than go from point to point."

"That's what I'm hoping for Sir, something….more" Vicky smiled back as they reached her quarters.

Once inside Hoshi placed the suitcase she carried on the desk and turned back toward the young lady. "First off, you don't have to call me Sir while off duty, please call me Hoshi."

"Alright….Hoshi" Vicki replied "most everyone calls me Vicki. Whose quarters are these normally? It smells good in here."

Hoshi giggled at that "this is Commander Tucker's quarters, and he does smell good, when he's not covered in some lubricant or coolant of some sort, like usual." Vicki blushed somewhat at having no realized it was a masculine smell she had liked so much.

"Where will I staying when the Commander gets out of quarantine?" was her next question.

Hoshi smiled back "these are yours till we get you to Earth. With the entire Bolian Embassy staff including the Ambassador riding back to Earth with us, the Captain felt that the Commanders would understand. They'll just have to stay in the guest quarters on G deck till everything is over."

Vicky looked surprised "a Bolian Ambassador to Earth? Is it really that bad?"

Now it was Hoshi's turn to be surprised "bad, how so?"

"Well," Vicki continued "we've all already heard about the New Hope."

Hoshi looked away with sadness in her eyes "yeah, that was…horrible."

Vicki gave her a sympathetic smile back "part of the risks of being a Boomer. You have to take the good with the bad. So, what will I be expected to do during the ceremony?"

Hoshi admired the young lady's tact. Anyone else in her position, with a family and a home that could be imminently in harm's way, would have tried to grill the Ensign for info.

"Not much," Hoshi said comfortingly "you'll stand with me and the rest; afraid the Captain will be doing most of the hard work."

She was having a hard time suppressing her amusement. She could still remember the Captain's face when she explained the details for the Bolian Welcoming Ceremony.

"I take it from your grin" Vicki broke Hoshi's train of thought "that the Captain was not happy about it?"

Hoshi's grin broke out into a full laugh "that's putting it VERY mildly!"

They both were laughing now. "I suppose we're all going to get to know the Captain MUCH better by the end of the day," Vicki said through gasps of breath. That only made it worse for Hoshi. Once she finally stopped convulsing she patted Vicky on the shoulder. "Let's just say it's a side of the Captain few have ever seen before." They both started laughing uncontrollably once more.

Once she was back in control of her lungs Hoshi pointed her new friend to the bunk. Sitting on top were three navy blue duty uniforms, one with each of the three branches of service colors across the shoulders. Beside it was a dress white uniform with Science Blue across the shoulders. Hoshi had anticipated that the Captain would want Vicky to come down to the ceremony. Vicky, now finally in control of her own laughter, picked up the dress uniform and held it up to herself. It clearly was not long enough for her lanky frame.

"Sorry" Hoshi smiled in sympathy "we only received two of the new women's dress uniforms before leaving on this mission. One for me and one for Commander T'pol. I was going to use hers myself and give you mine, I'm a centimeter or two taller than her, but surprisingly we got the exact same size uniforms. Apparently, no one was worried about whether that skirt would be too short when HE designed it." The sarcasm in her voice was thick.

Starfleet had decided, for some reason beyond Hoshi's understanding, to switch to a white dress uniform. Even more surprising to the Ensign and most of Starfleet's female personnel had been the switch to skirts for the new white female dress uniforms. Hoshi's very prudish mother would have called them miniskirts; the hem was four to five centimeters above the knee. Hoshi had heard that there was a service blue version that was now standard wear for planetside female personnel in office environments too. She knew that on the tall recruit there would be no doubt it would qualify as a miniskirt.

"I'm sure it will be fine for me Hoshi," the young lady said without the hint of concern. "Are you sure the Commander won't mind?"

Hoshi laughed gently at that "No, not at all, she would give it to you if she could. I don't even think she's tried it on yet. T'pol wasn't a fan of the old uniforms, and definitely not a fan of the skirt."

Vicki frowned "I'm pretty tall, I don't want to stretch it out or anything."

"Don't worry" Hoshi smiled "Commander T'pol and you are about the same size in the upper body and thanks to some ingenious MALE uniform designer, your long legs won't be stretching the bottom out!"

They both giggled again. No doubt it was a man's idea to go with skirts!

Vicki laid the uniform out over the bunk so as not to wrinkle it. That's when she noticed a small device on the covers. Picking it up with curiosity Hoshi answered her unspoken question for her.

"Oh, that's the portable Universal Translator" Hoshi smiled with pride at her own invention. "See the small tab on the top. That's the earpiece. Bring it with you and I'll show you how to operate it on the way down to the planet."

Vicki turned back to Hoshi "which of the duty uniforms should I wear when we get back to the ship this afternoon?"

"Whichever you prefer. The Captain figured it would be best to give you the rest of the day to familiarize you with Enterprise. Your first actual duty shift won't be till tomorrow. I'll come by after we get back this evening and give you the grand tour."

Hoshi picked up a PADD on the desk and activated it. She perused it briefly and then squinted at it with mild consternation before handing it to Vicki. "Looks like the Captain REALLY wanted to throw you into the fire. Your first official shift duty is Beta shift, twelve hundred hours in the Armory on F deck for weapon systems familiarization with the infamous Lieutenant Reed. You'll be wearing red tomorrow."

Vicki squinted at Hoshi slightly then diverted her eyes, which forced Hoshi to ask her why. "What is it? Why are you giving me that look?"

Vicki changed her expression to worry "I know things are different on Starfleet ships, fraternization and all, but you have a look about you I've seen many times before on ECA ships."

Hoshi smirked a bit and raised her eyebrow "a look?"

Vicki turned away slightly concerned at her indiscretion "It's not my place, Sir."

"OH! Now we're back to Sir?" Hoshi playfully taunted back at her.

Vicki blushed a bit "sorry, Hoshi, but you can rest assured that I'll not flirt with the Lieutenant off or on duty."

Hoshi blushed slightly and then squinted in mild surprise "am I that obvious?"

Vicki smiled back reassuringly "No, not at all, really. I was born on a starship. I've lived my entire life on a starship. It's a very small and tight-knit community with very little other to do than work and 'relate' to each other. Being able to read other people's moods and feelings without words becomes second nature, at least for us girls anyway. I don't think you'd be that easy to tell for most people."

Hoshi sighed in resignation "that's a useful talent. Perhaps you could develop that as a specialty at OCS. That's interesting about Boomers learning to read each other."

Vicki squinted now "why is that?"

"Travis seems to have figured my relationship with the Lieutenant out too. Must be that Boomer intuition." Hoshi grimaced mockingly back. "Now, as someone who is supposed to be training you and setting an example for you, Starfleet regulations expressly forbid fraternization between crew of all ranks and reserves the authority to discipline such activity when found with punishment up to and including dismissal from the service."

She then proudly placed her hands on her hips. "There! I did my duty!"

Vicki smiled back "no need to worry about me. Although, it would be helpful to know which of our male crewmen I should be PARTICULARLY formal with, besides the Lieutenant."

Hoshi's eyes darted around in contemplation before responding "the Captain."

Vicki shot her a questioning look "that seems obvious."

"Not necessarily Vicky" Hoshi smiled "Jon Archer is a famous, handsome, and charismatic man. I remember him when he was just a Commander and a pilot instructor at OCS; very few of us young cadets of the female persuasion DIDN'T have some feelings and personal plans for the dashing Commander Archer."

Vicki looked appalled "he's my father's age!"

"And that's a negative how?" Hoshi sent her a conspiratorial smile. Vicky blushed again. "Anyway" Hoshi continued "he's the Captain. I'm not saying be a stick in the mud around him. Just be mindful. You may be nineteen but you look like you're in your mid-twenties. The Captain is pretty informal, and it would be easy to be confused by his easy going nature. He's also a very sensitive man. Let's just say that the Hero of the Xindi Conflict has trouble with female related issues sometimes and it's best not to forget his position."

"I understand" Vicki smiled in return.

"I believe we'll be eating dinner on the planet tonight, but you'll be having breakfast with me and Travis in the Captain's Mess at zero-five thirty tomorrow. I'll be by to pick you up then and also in a little bit for the trip down to the planet." With that Hoshi moved toward the hatchway. Vicky called back to her "what about the good smelling Commander Tucker? Is he as cute as he smells?"

Hoshi grinned back "he is very cute and has three times MORE female sensitivity issues than the Captain."

Vicki sighed "well I'm not here to have fun now am I?"

Hoshi's grin increased "not TOO MUCH fun anyway. I can tell that you and I are going to get along way too well!" They both giggled before Hoshi left her to settle in.

The shuttle flight down to the planet had taken way too little time for Jon Archer's taste. Phlox introduced himself to Enterprise's newest crewmember and immediately fell under her spell. Hoshi had barely been able to explain the functioning of the Portable Universal Translator to the Acting Ensign through the Doctor's jovial antidotes and stories.

Malcolm, of course, maintained his usual professional decorum despite the young redhead's beauty and charming personality. The Captain had noticed that Malcolm appeared more interested in Hoshi's newly exposed legs than that of the younger lady's.

Travis glided Shuttlepod One gracefully into place at the landing pad behind the palace complex. As the white dress uniform-clad members of the crew of the shuttle emerged into the bright white light of the Bolian sun they were greeted in turn by Director McCants and the Bolian Chamberlain of the Bedchamber, whom Jon was informed earlier was a very important person in the Bolian Government despite his relatively domestic and haughty sounding title.

They were led into a subterranean passageway that would take them under the palace gardens and into the Sooba'Darian Palace proper. The palace was a hive of activity and as they emerged into the lower levels they were quickly escorted by two very shapely and azure colored acolytes into the presence of the Sooba'Dar herself. She was surrounded by numerous other Bolians. Some working on her appearance and some in fancier outfits discussing various things in the Bolian tongue, the UT was too far away to translate those words yet. When she saw Jon she immediately dropped everyone else and glided toward the approaching visitors. When she was mere meters away Jon bowed at the waist and began to lift his palms upright in the formal greeting posture when she suddenly grabbed his hands.

"Oh, not here!" she smiled brightly at him. "How many times do you want to have to do all that in one day Jonathan?"

Her grip was quite strong for a woman that Jon assumed was at least old enough to be his mother. He smiled back at her "I'm hoping just once more ma'am."

Her laugh was infectious "a strong strapping pink-skinned young man like you, you should show off all those muscles dear!" The Captain turned a brighter shade of red. She pulled Jon literally and by extension his crew toward another room. Once they had entered the new chamber the guards at the door closed it behind them. She announced to the party "We'll get your Captain ready for the ceremony in here while I entertain you next door. All the dignitaries will arrive in a little while. Chamberlain, if you'll take our honored guests into the reception area? I will join you all in a few moments. I want to spend some…..alone time, with our most honored guest."

With that, the tall, blue, and very bald Chamberlain of the Bedchamber led the rest of the crew and Director McCants through another set of doors. Malcolm shot his Captain a look of concern, but his Captain gave him back a small accepting nod, which seemed to partially mollify his Chief of Security's naturally suspicious nature.

Once they were alone the Sooba'Dar turned to Jon "so dear, a little official business before we have some pleasantries." She took both his hands and led him to a massive set of stained-glassed doors which led them out onto a secluded patio with a glorious view of the snowcapped mountains in the far distance. The fragrance of strange and beautiful blossoms graced the warm breeze. She pulled him by the hand to sit beside her on the bench among the flowers by a flowing fountain. Jon was distracted briefly by the erotic sculpture that formed the fountainhead until he noticed the Sooba'Dar removing a device from her gown. She placed it between them on the bench and activated it. Staring back up at him now with her exotically gentle yellow eyes she answered his questioning look.

"It's a surveillance disruption device. It even casts a slight visual distortion field so that high powered visual devices cannot be used to read our lips." Jon nodded in obvious appreciation of the impressive technology.

"So Jonathan" she laid a blue palm on the back of his right hand "tell me in truth. What will our good friends on Earth do when Romulan soldiers are marching through the streets of Sooba'Tal'gon?"

Jon's expression changed to sadness "I wish that I had something better to tell you than the truth. We would find it difficult to defend many of our own colony worlds closer to Earth at this point. We are expanding our defense forces as quickly as our resources allow, but the best I can promise you now is that as long as Enterprise is in orbit you can rely on our assistance."

She smiled gently back with another question, her thumb gently rubbing the back of his hand. "Your honesty stands well with your preceding reputation Jonathan. Tell me about your world's friends in the Coalition of Planets. Will they stand with you on the battle lines when your world is threatened by the Romulans?"

Jon's bleak expression did not change "Earth won't ask our fellow Coalition members to join in our physical defense if or when the Romulans attack. We would rather have an intact Coalition giving us non-combat support than have our allies be forced to abandon the Coalition over demands to join our war efforts."

"The Vulcans" Jon stated "have become even more introverted. The revelations in the Kir'Shara have changed their form of Government and also how they see their place as a civilization in the universe. Many Vulcans are now reevaluating their personal lives and as a result, their defense forces have lost a great many of their best people. Their older vessels are being mothballed in reserve fleets and their newer ships are operating with partial crews. Even if there was the political will to fight, it's doubtful that in the current social environment of self-evaluation on Vulcan the Government would find the popular support to do so."

"And as go the Vulcans so too goes the Coridan and Kreetassans" the Sooba'Dar added with understanding. Jon nodded acknowledgment of the facts "they follow the Vulcans' lead, plus neither have significant spaceborne defense forces in the first place."

Jon continued "since their last war with the Antarans, the Denobulans have maintained strict neutrality. Plus they are pretty far from assumed Romulan territory and they also have minimal space forces."

The Sooba'Dar asked "and the Andorians, and the Tellarites? I find it hard to believe that they would need the Vulcans to come to Earth's defense to justify doing so themselves."

Jon smiled bittersweetly "the Tellarites are very enthusiastic about the prospects of building cargo ships for us, and supplying us with goods and raw materials and services, and using their merchant fleet to transport those materials in non-combat zones. They stop short of wanting to fight beside us without the Vulcans though."

"The Andorians, on the other hand, are the great mystery at this point. Earth's most vocal advocate on Andor has gone silent for the last few weeks. They still maintain large combat forces, but the one interstellar effort the Vulcan's are currently enthusiastically engaged in is trying to get the Andorians to reduce their military forces by treaty. Under normal circumstances, Earth would support that, but with the Romulans saber-rattling, it's not the best time for disarmament that from our perspective. Despite joining the Coalition together, the Andorians and the Vulcans still have great mistrust issues between them. I'm too far out at this time to try to contact my Andorian contact right now, but the Andorians have been silent on what they are willing to do to assist Earth should the Romulans attack us. They are the least committal of all the Coalition members as to their intentions in relation to supporting us."

The Sooba'Dar looked somewhat puzzled "so what exactly does Earth get out of this Coalition? Seems to me that Humanity did most of the work to forge it, gets the least return from it, and will be doing all the bloodshed and suffering to preserve it."

Jon's grin returned "we get the best that the Coalition has to offer Your Excellency. The security of knowing that our neighbors understand us and our intentions. The ability to access their knowledge and information. The hope of sharing a brighter future together. The…"

Jon was stopped by the Sooba'Dar's hand around his right tricep "alright Jonathan, alright. You've convinced me! Tell me, are all Human's as idealistic and hopeful as you are?"

Jon chuckled a bit "no, rest assured we also have very realistic and not so naïve people as well."

She gently laid her braid filled head slightly on his shoulder in sympathy "you're not naïve Mr. Hammer of the Xindi! You've seen the darkness as well as the light in the Universe. You simply choose to see the light through the dark. I fear that you and I both will see more darkness before light again, but we will see the light again Jonathan."

Strangely enough, this little blue gregarious woman he had just met somehow made Jon Archer believe his own propaganda, despite the dark mood he had been in before.

She stood up and he moved with her as she still had a firm grip of his upper arm. Once they were both upright she slid her arm through the crook of his and they slowly walked toward the doors that led back into the palace. She gracefully scooped up the interference device without deactivating it. She looked up at him as they moved slowly indoors.

She began "You've been honest with me so I will be honest with you. You have convinced me that I have made the right decision on the establishment of mutual Embassies between our peoples. You have also convinced me that you are the right man to get my people back to Earth. As my granddaughter will be the Ambassador I'm sure you can understand my apprehension about how she gets there."

Jon blinked in surprise. No one had told him that the Sooba'Dar's granddaughter was going to be the Ambassador to Earth.

She continued "what we won't be doing now is joining the Coalition of Planets, at least for the duration of the current uncertainties. You've convinced me that your Earth, if none of the others, would feel obligated to come to our defense, even to your own detriment. From what you and Director McCants have told me Earth is not ready for war. You need at least another year to get yourselves into a position to properly defend your own territory; much less engage in long-range offensives. With noble and honor bound people like you in charge, I have no doubt that your people would risk too much, too soon, to assist in the Rift's and the Expanse's eventual liberation. I would rather my people and our neighbors suffer a little longer in the hope of a real liberation from domination than to have Earth move too soon and join us in enslavement. You HAVE convinced me that Earth is our best hope for the eventual removal of the Romulan threat though."

Jon was about to try to change her mind about joining the Coalition but she wouldn't have it "don't try to convince me otherwise. Ask any member of my Government, once I've made up my mind It's made. They don't call me the 'Great Kal'nook' for noting."

The UT must not have had a translation for Kal'nook but Jon imagined it was a very immovable thing, whatever it was.

The Sooba'Dar released his arm and clapped her hands together three times. From the far end of the room seven bald, blue beauties with ridges down their middles, in virtually see-through gauzy body wraps, entered carrying various objects from the far doors. Jon's eyes went wide at the sudden appearance of the all but naked women. Seeing his expression the Sooba'Dar placed her hand on the small of his back and whispered to his ear.

"The girls will be getting you ready for the ceremony. Remember, you will offend them if you try to do anything for yourself. They will want to help you in any way possible, and I do mean anyway."

Jon's wide eyes got wider as he fixed his eyes on her "I….ah….am not so sure Starfleet would….."

She reached up to his chest and turned off the Universal Translator as if she had used one before. Then she gave instructions to the acolytes in the Bolian language. Her voice was gentle but commanding, she was clearly giving instructions. The girls' initial reactions did not support that assumption though as they giggled and smiled at Jon, which only made his skin burn with an embarrassing flush. Then they bowed to their sovereign and she turned the UT back on.

Jon was about to protest again but the Sooba'Dar cut him off.

"Jonathan Eugene, this is just as important as the Welcome Ceremony itself, as it is an integral part of that same ceremony. Now you wouldn't want to offend the entire Bolian people by rejecting our offer of genuine hospitality would you?"

Jon stuttered a response "no ma'am….but….well…it's just…"

"Good" she stated as she moved past him and toward the doors through which the rest of his crew had left minutes before. "You have the better part of the hour to get him prepared for the ceremony ladies. Make sure he is as relaxed as possible."

With his UT back on he could understand their unison response "Yes Honored Excellency."

As the doors opened and then began to close behind her retreating form, the Sooba'Dar called back over her shoulder "enjoy our culture fully Jonathan. I look forward to…seeing more of you…in a little bit."

"Um….yes your Excellency" Jon said to the closing doors. Then he turned back to the blue beauties. They had surrounded him and smiled and giggled as they appraised him with their gorgeous eyes. They were soon close enough that they began to place their hands on him. He smiled nervously back at them.

"Um….Hello, H-Hi" he said nervously as they got close enough to let more than their hands touch his body. "My name's, um…..ahhh….JON! Please call me Jon."

They all giggled at his nervousness as they continued to fondle him. The one on the right stroked his chest and then grasped his UT. She smiled at him behind gentle and seductive purple eyes as she spoke for the group.

"Hello Jon, We'll take good care of you and have you ready for the ceremony. You won't need this for a while." She turned his UT off as one of the other seductive acolytes reached his dress uniform's front zipper and began to pull it down.

"Um…Okay" Jon replied. His shyness made them all giggled again.

The reception hall within the Sooba'Darian Palace was glorious. At least that's what Malcolm Reed thought till he and all the other guests had finally moved into the Central Courtyard. The beauty and grandeur of the multi-terraced courtyard was breathtaking. Hoshi was walking close in front of him and turned wide-eyed back toward him. She whispered, "oh Malcolm, isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

Her eyes were filled with light and awe and her slight smile warmed his soul. He leaned into her to reply "it's indeed one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, but It's nowhere near the most beautiful thing in my line of sight at this moment."

Her wide eyes widened even more and she blushed in his unexpected praise. She whispered back gently "I would really like to be alone here with you right now."

He let the press of the crowd push him gently into her supple body. As he was pressed closer he grasped her hand and they both squeezed with intensity before releasing each other on the approach of the rest of their party.

The two acolytes that had been assigned to them gently led the five through the crowd to their designated place near the front of the reviewing stand, before they themselves gracefully withdrew toward the courtyard walls. As the rest of the numerous guests moved into their places and began chatting again, Malcolm took notice of the crowd's composition. It was a natural habit of his as a long-practiced security officer to scan crowds and assess any potential threats. At the moment he saw no obvious threats, but he did have a question. He leaned in close to ask the person he thought would most likely have the answer "Hoshi, is Bolian culture matriarchal? There seem to be a lot more females than males at this gathering."

Travis, Vicki, and the Doctor were all in easy earshot and looked toward the Communication Officer for the potential answer. She smiled gently back at Malcolm as she replied "traditionally Bolians had mostly patriarchal societies. However, when they were forming their unified planetary Government two hundred years ago none of the nation-state Sudra'Dars, traditional hereditary male heads of state, could agree what form such Government should take. Everything was about to break down and could have led to renewed warfare, when some of the Sooba'Das, their wives, got together and came up with the solution. Thus the unified planetary Government of Bolarus Magnificent was born under the wise guidance of nature's most intelligent creature, woman."

Phlox, Malcolm, and Travis smirked indignantly. Vicki boldly spoke up in support of Hoshi though "what a progressive and enlightened culture."

That only made their male companions gruff in continued mock indignation.

Hoshi continued "now every five years one of the nation states' Sooba'Das is selected to be the Sooba'Dar of Bolarus and to form the planetary Government. The current Sooba'Dar, Tallshi Gay'lan, is the wife of Tallshi Mak'lor, the Sudra'Dar of Bolarus Glorious. She is in the second year of her third Sooba'Darian non-consecutive tenure. The other thirty-one Sooba'Das sit with her on the Sooba'Daian Council, which forms the upper house of their planetary legislature. The lower assembly is larger in numbers, directly elected by the people, and has broader powers."

"So," Travis asked, "the men only run the actual nation states while their wives get together to determine how best to run the whole planet?"

Hoshi smiled back with irony "that's exactly right and the way it should be on all civilized planets."

Vicki then asked a question "what's the deal with the names? Bolarus Glorious, Bolarus Magnificent?"

At that, a rather chubby, middle-aged Bolian male standing behind them leaned in "if the lovely Ensign doesn't mind I can explain that to you my dear. Hello, my name Kad'mahar Genlo, I'll be serving at the Bolian Embassy on Earth."

The crew exchanged brief greetings and Hoshi indicated for him to proceed with the explanation.

"It's basically a case of nation states trying to out-do each other. Thanks to our jovial and outgoing nature we developed a relatively homogenous planet-wide culture over a millennia ago. Unfortunately, that did not translate into mutual cooperation and understanding. There were many wars and other slightly more benign competitions between the nation-states. Towards the later parts of the Unification Wars, several of the more powerful nation-states claimed that they were the legitimate planetary Government. They even changed their names to reflect their claims to planetary dominion. Thus, we have the nation states of Bolarus Glorious, Bolarus Justified, Bolarus Triumphant, so on and so forth. The final real planetary Government chose Bolarus Magnificent as the name because it was the only such title left to use!"

Everyone chuckled a bit, then Genlo pointed to the far side of the courtyard "here we go. The ceremony is beginning."

Everyone in the courtyard turned their attention toward the far side of the reviewing stand as six very large, very muscular and of course very blue guards came out in formation brandishing very large and thick scimitar-like swords. They wore basically a brown loincloth with a silver sash over their left shoulders. After they took their menacing positions in front of the dais, thirty one exquisitely dressed Bolian women came out and sat in the chairs behind the guards. Malcolm assumed that these were the nation state's Sooba'Das. Then finally the Sooba'Dar herself came up to the center of the dais. Once she was in position everyone in the courtyard bowed with palms up in the Bolian traditional greeting. After briefly scanning the assembly before her she stretched her hands out, palms down and spoke: "all greetings and salutations to all our honored guests, especially those from our brother world of Earth."

Everyone rose from the bowed position and said in unison "all greetings and salutations noble travelers."

The Sooba'Dar smiled broadly to the crowd "bring forth the new arrival!"

Everyone turned toward the far end of the courtyard as two massive stained glass doors opened and seven beautiful Bolian acolytes, practically naked in their see-through gowns, walked out in a circle formation with Captain Archer's head moving in step with them in the middle. Each acolyte had a hold of the gown of the one beside her so that they covered the Captain completely from view while increasing the view of their own well-defined forms. Hoshi turned toward the male members and noticed that they were all appreciating the view the acolytes gave, including Malcolm, till he caught her disapproving eye and turned his gaze away quickly from the mesmerizing spectacle.

Once the ensemble had reached several meters from the dais they stopped. Then the Sooba'Dar began to speak again "it is always wonderful to meet new friends and to welcome new people to our world. It also gives us the opportunity to tell you of the history and traditions that surround our welcoming ceremony, thus also reminding ourselves of its importance in our lives and its symbolic allusions to our culture and beliefs. The ceremony is a representation of the very first welcome anyone ever has and by far the most important, birth. So now we welcome the people of Earth through their emissary to us, the Hero of the Xindi Conflict and Earth's greatest star explorer, United Earth Starfleet Captain Jonathan Eugene Archer."

With that the acolytes who had been covering the Captain's form gracefully slide to the side to reveal the guest of honor in all his naked glory. From head to toe Captain Jon Archer had not one scrap of clothing. Several of the female guests gently jockeyed with one another to get a better view of the alien male. Hoshi and Vicky both blushed as they diverted their eyes as much as possible. Malcolm and Travis refused to even lower their chins; both appeared to be starring off at some distant cloud on the horizon as intently as they had just been staring at the semi-naked acolytes just moments before. Phlox, of course, was Phlox and merely smiled brightly at his Captain with his usual encouraging smile. The Captain too was working hard not to look at anyone but the Sooba'Dar who gently nodded her head to him to indicate her approval, which made the Captain blush a bit more. Vicki, who was standing beside Hoshi, tried to let her eyes drop without being noticed. Hoshi instinctively followed where she was looking before catching a glimpse and both quickly diverting back to forward and away from where their Captain stood. Hoshi did allow herself to look at the Captain's upper body which to her surprise seemed quite limber and relaxed compared to what she had expected of him. He also had a light sheen of sweat on him, which considering the perfect weather seemed a bit odd. Then she and the Captain finally locked eyes and he sent a look of warning to her, not so much about looking at him though. If she had to give that look matching words it would be "you left something out didn't you". She was sure she had told him everything, but she was equally sure she'd find out soon enough if she hadn't.

The Sooba'Dar then became formal again and nodded at the Captain who then strode forward with purpose and stopped before her. He then bowed from the waist, stuck his arms out and lifted his palms to the sky. Then he spoke "all greetings and salutations to the glorious people of Bolarus Magnificent, and her who is most noble and honorably, their leader and guide. To the Council of Sooba'Das whom in their beauty and wisdom guide and advise their magnificent Sooba'Dar to the glory of the Bolian race and to the people of Bolarus Magnificent, whose great patience and jovial disposition is the glory of their creation."

The Sooba'Dar smiled and several of the Sooba'Das also smiled and nodded. The imposing guards that stood almost as naked as the Captain, only with a weapon, looked at him with a mix of disdain and superiority. The Sooba'Dar moved down the steps from the dais and walked around the Captain's prone form, appraising it with a discerning eye. Then she raised both hands toward the Council of Sooba'Das and motioned them to come down. One by one they passed by the Captain, each enjoying his…posture, as they lined up in two rows behind him.

The Sooba'Dar then spoke up again from the back of those two lines "shall we keep this child of the stars as our own sisters?"

Thirty-one feminine voices called out in unison 'we judge him worthy."

She then redirected her smiling gaze upon him "now we shall welcome Jonathan Eugene Archer as we welcome any newborn to our world and through him our friends on Earth, to our world, and…..in our unique way."

Once they were lined up the first two Sooba'Das in line, the two oldest looking ones, hauled back and slapped Jon Archer on the buttocks, HARD! The Captain still bent at the waist and palms up, grimaced slightly but never lost his position. They both patted him on the shoulder and smiled at him as they moved back up to the dais. They were followed in quick succession by each Sooba'Da, now taking turns from side to side. Hoshi could feel herself blush as she witnessed each of the women using their own unique method to whack the Captain on his backside. Some would rub it in afterward, with a rather lusty expression on the faces. Some would whisper something amusing into his ear when she was done. Some giggled like school girls. One smacked him hard and grabbed on for a second or two before letting go. With each new smack the Captain's backside became redder, but to Hoshi's own surprised pride her Captain never lost his rigid bowed position. With each smack, Hoshi and Vicki would flinch in sympathy for their leader. Travis and Malcolm, who still refused to look away from the sky, let the sound of palms contacting glutes alone expand their eyes wider in their orbs. Phlox, being Phlox, looked on in scientific curiosity.

Finally the last Sooba'Da whacked him and gently glided her hand down his right arm as she passed. The look she gave him was an invitation for more than a paddling. The Sooba'Dar was the only one left. She approached Jon from the rear and looked with great concern at his red backside. She leaned in and whispered something in the Captain's ear and he chuckled a bit, still blazingly red in embarrassment. Then she gently patted his right butt cheek and moved up to her former position on the dais to address the crowd. Hoshi noticed the guards seemed to be slightly more impressed with the Captain after his ordeal.

The Sooba'Dar looked over her shoulder at the Council of Sooba'Das standing behind her "some of my fellow Sooba'Das seemed to be so eager to greet you that they took it out on your bottom Jonathan."

The feinted protests and giggles from the peanut gallery of previously dignified women behind her sent all the guests into uproarious laughter. Then one of the oldest Sooba'Das spoke up "I'm willing to give it another try if you think we can do better Gay'lan!" That only made the crowd's laughter increase.

After everyone had a good chuckle the Sooba'Dar stretched her arms out toward the Captain with her palms down. "Earth has sent us their best to solidify our friendship, Jonathan Archer, the Hammer of the Xindi; and the valiant crew of the starship Enterprise. We soon will send our best to them, in return." Her eyes drifted from the Captain to a beautiful young woman in the crowd, who stood out for being one of the few Bolians with hair, like the Sooba'Dar herself. Then the Sooba'Dar focused on the Captain again "welcome to Bolarus Magnificent crew of the Earth ship Enterprise!"

With that, the Captain rose with his arms stretched out still, palms still up. The Sooba'Dar and he moved toward each other till her hands rested atop his. At that instant, the crowd erupted in thunderous applause, hoots, shouts of affirmation and jumping. Hoshi remembered then that she had read that the Bolians express great excitement by jumping. Genlo and several others were giving such a demonstration now.

The Sooba'Dar took Jon's hand with one of hers and used the other to flourish him about, still very naked, to the approving crowd. Then with her free hand, she beaconed the scantily clad acolytes who surrounded the Captain once again, but this time they were manhandling him back toward the stain glass doors they had exited from before, clearly enjoying their work. The Sooba'Dar gave them instructions no one else could hear except them and the Captain. His eyes went wide at her words which only made her smile increase. As he was ushered by the rather impatient if excited acolytes toward the door the males in the crowd began chanting his name. The Captain locked concerned eyes with his crew before disappearing with the acolytes behind the stain glassed doors.

Malcolm turned to the others "I wonder what that's all about?"

Everyone just stared as Genlo and his fellow Bolians behind them bellowed laughter at the question.

"Never fear friends" Genlo spit out through gut rolling laughs "he's in VERY GOOD hands! Indeed!"


	8. Chapter 8

Her hands were soft and supple as she pressed them into his back. The neuropressure was great but sometimes a good old fashioned back rub was just the thing to end a day on a great note. Either way, T'pol had magic fingers. The ocean waves broke across the shoreline as she continued to massage him. She wore a light wrap that blew in the breeze to expose her green bikini underneath. She straddled the back of his upper legs as she pushed into him with her hands, using the sunscreen as a massage lotion. She hit a particular sweet spot along his spine and the release she caused made him sigh contently. Trip had never been on a beach like this in the middle of the day with no one but him and his girl before. She sensed he wanted to roll over and lifted her body with her legs off of him so that he could turn before she rested on him again. She poured more lotion in her hands and warmed it before applying it to his chest and abdomen. He stared up into her perfect features as she continued to work diligently to protect her T'hy'la's fragile pale skin. Her olive toned features were much more resistant than a Human's thanks to the evolutionary effects of Vulcan's three suns, the main one being much harsher than Earth's yellow star. Still, good old Sol was bright enough to force her translucent inner eyelids down over her hazel-green orbs.

Trip shook his head back and forth slowly. T'pol looked at him curiously and asked "what is wrong ashal?"

"Not a thing in all the Universe, Gorgeous" Trip said through a wide grin "I was just admiring the one thing Vulcans have over Humans that I'm truly envious of."

Her eyebrow raised in curiosity as she continued to rub his chest "what would that be T'hy'la?"

His smile changed slightly to his crooked one-sided grin "those built in sunglasses of yours. Now that is a great example of effective design. I'd love to have that particular genetic modification myself."

She never stopped her work even during conversations "it was a necessary evolutional modification for my species. Vulcanis A sends out light waves in a harmful band of frequency to unprotected eyesight. In addition, Valcanis C is intensely bright. It alone could damage a Human's retina."

He sighed again at her hands worked "I remember from when we went to Vulcan. You wouldn't let me take my sunglasses off till we got to your home in the late afternoon."

"Indeed" she replied "Vulcan's atmosphere does allow even Human vision to go unprotected, but only once Valcanis A and C are below a thirty-degree angle from the horizon. Only then are the light filtering qualities of Vulcan's atmosphere sufficient enough to prevent damage."

"You may be surprised to learn that Humans have superior night vision to Vulcans. It would seem that our harsh suns have allowed Humans at least one superior physical feature" she added in what Trip knew was her attempt to goad him. He refused to take the bait of his teasing mate.

"You mean superior physical features other than blue eyes and a wonderful smile?"

She didn't even hesitate. She laid down on him, took his head in her hands and greedily kissed her T'hy'la. Once the passionate kiss was broken she stared directly into his eyes "let us copulate now."

He let the hands that had been holding her bottom slid up into a bear hug around her arms and back "you know we need to sleep a little longer baby. Every time we do it here you wake up and really want to do it there. Why don't we go for a swim in the ocean?"

She never broke eye contact with him "only if we can have intercourse in the ocean."

Even now that he'd had a few days to get used to the incredibly open and honest Pon Farr version of T'pol, she still could shock him with her newfound sexual bluntness.

Trip smiled as he pulled her head into his chest, her hands getting lower on his sides. He couldn't imagine another situation where he would deny her, but he knew that even if she didn't need sleep he did. Of course, she could also read these thoughts of his.

"I will be a…good girl….as you say, and only engage you in activities here in the meditative sleep state."

He shook his head "now you know good and well that you have yet to keep that promise Beautiful."

She sat back up, her palms planted firmly in his chest. She looked down on him with "that look" of hers "are you certain you do not wish to copulate with me?" As she asked her hair began to lengthen till it was long enough for strands to begin blowing in the wind.

Trip looked up indignantly at her as if she had betrayed him. "You know good and well that that's not playing fair! I love your hair when it's long and you're just trying to manipulate me into doing what you want! That's cheat'n!"

She seductively whipped her head around in the wind so that the hair would flow about her face. Then she leaned over so that her head and all its glorious new long brown hair would lay on his face and chest. Instinctually he took in a deep breath of her heavenly brown strands and whimpered like a puppy as he enjoyed her sent way too much, but he steeled his resolve.

"No baby, we both need more sleep and there is no way you can JUST do it here!"

"You know this is not cheating Trip" she purred at him in her most sultry voice "but THIS is."

With those words, she and the beach both disappeared into a twilight night on Vulcan. He stood alone on the terrace of her childhood home and stared out toward the volcanic mountains to the west, silhouetted in darkness by T'Khut's bright annual month-long visit to the night sky of T'pol's homeworld. The stark beauty of the semi-arid landscape highlighted in the reflected half-light of Vulcan's three hidden suns reflecting off of the massive sister world took his breath from him. A shiver went through him as a breeze of cold night air hit him. Then he heard T'pol's voice from behind him, but it was different, it sounded…younger.

"It sometimes can become cold at night. Perhaps you would like me to share my body heat with you? Do not worry; my ko-mehk will not be home for some time."

She glided out from behind the shadows into T'Khut's moon-like reflected light. As she approached Trip got a good look at her. His mouth dropped wide open as he searched for words to put into that mouth that could match with the sight he now witnessed.

"Holy…..shi…a teenaged T'pol!" his voice cracked, which let him know that she had made him into a teenager again too.

Before he could do anything about it her lips were centimeters away from his face. She took obvious delight in his scent. Then she stared up into his face with those incredible green-hazel eyes of hers. "You smell even more aroused than usual" she purred in a slightly different voice than before "just like I remember Sim smelling when he was a teenager." She already had him inside her arms.

He gazed down into her youthful face and stroked her partially loose, partially braided hair "THIS is just plain mean T'pol and you know it."

She glided her palm across his youthful chest "I know ashal, but you know you enjoy it." She placed her palm on his face and pulled him into a kiss. He could resist her no longer.

Forty minutes later and they still were in the meditative sleep state and done with their youthful engagements for the moment. For the first time, she had been able to stay asleep in the real world while enjoying herself within their bond. As they lay in each other's arms staring out the open window of her childhood home at T'Khut's magnificence, Trip could feel her self-satisfaction at not only having stayed asleep in the real world but also because she had proved him wrong, again. Teenage Trip chuckled at that and knowing why he was chuckling, teenage T'pol looked back with a slight smile. He buried his nose in her hair and gently pulled her even deeper into him with the arm whose hand was full of half of her upper torso's softest parts. She sighed in pleasure as his tongue and lips stimulated her long slender neck, her hand gliding silkily over his arm that held her so firmly.

She purred at him "that is what I find to be most agreeable about you ashal."

"What's that baby?" he asked while never stopping his actions.

She gave a satisfied grunt "you like being proven wrong by me and often enjoy its results tremendously. A Vulcan male in your position would have enjoyed the physical interactions, but would not be as satisfied with losing the argument as you are. I will have to make sure that other Vulcan females do not discover how much Human males like to lose such arguments or else my people as a separate species may in several generations cease to exist."

That made Trip giggle a bit "perhaps losing to other Vulcan females would not be so…rewarding an experience for my fellow Human males?"

T'pol pondered that before responding "perhaps not, but if other Vulcan females are as susceptible to Human males as I am to one, in particular, I believe such Human males will enjoy losing many arguments to come."

That only made Trip laugh again "right as usual Beautiful!" her eyebrow crawled gently up her forehead as she responded "Of course I am" as a matter of known fact, which made him gently squeezed her once more.

They lay there for a few moments more before he felt her tense and turn towards him "that is most illogical. Why would you wish for my mother to come home?"

He chuckled "I guess the potential to get caught in the act is part of the fun."

She cocked a disapproving eyebrow as she rested in his arms again "perhaps for Humans. My mother would not be amused at all."

A comfortable silence descended again before she started thinking hard. Then she made a statement "I enjoyed the sensations of youthful copulation with you T'hy'la, but I am still satisfied that I never did such activities in my actual youth."

He grunted before asking "why is that baby?"

"For one thing" she started "the potential for complications at this age are magnified. For the other, if I had engaged in such activities at this age in my actual life it could not have been with you. I was an adult before you were born. I am a few months older than your own mother."

She could feel his amusement swell within him before she asked her next curious questions spawned by his own unusual thoughts. "T'hy'la, what is coo-coo-ca-chew and who is Mrs. Robinson?"

He burst out laughing, which only sent her into deeper confusion till his thoughts emerged.

"Ah," she said in annoyance "if I were a Human female our age difference might indeed bother me."

He reassuringly squeezed her again but his thoughts still betrayed him. She continued to use them against him "do you not find it curious that you simultaneously are extremely attracted to my underage form and also stimulated by the fact that I am your mother's age in reality?"

"Not one bit," he said to her delicately pointed ear as he pulled in a deep draw of her hair's scent "and could you refrain from invoking the 'M' word in relation to how hot I find your more experienced age being, Mrs. Robinson?"

"I can" she smiled slightly "if you could refrain from calling me by other women's names."

He leaned up to protest that he was joking when she sent him mentally _"my attempt at humor T'hy'la."_

He smiled down at her and relaxed into her hair again. She then heard him forming new thoughts _"a few months older than my mother?"_

He leaned into her ear knowing she had already heard his thoughts "that means your birthday is THIS MONTH!"

She smirked "your reasoning toward the formulation of that…..hypothesis?"

He gave her that crooked grin that melted her resolve "Vulcans are precise. A few is a term that when used precisely means four. Four months. My mother's birthday is in July. Thus, four months before July is March."

She surrendered relatively easily "you are correct. My birthday does fall on the Human month of March, usually on the fifth day but some years on the sixth or the fourth day as well."

She could literally hear the wheels in his head turning "so what you're telling me is…."

She used her arms to pull him in tighter to the sides of her body "it is a Human tradition to receive gifts on one's birthday. It is not a Vulcan practice. However, I decided to make an exception to Vulcan tradition and accept my first birthday gift, from you, and it was the most significant gift I could have been given."

She laid her still teenaged hand on his face and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. As they released she was her normal beautiful adult self again. "Perhaps" she began "you will be able to not forget either my birthday or our anniversary now that they are the same date."

"I should hope not," he said in honest fear of the prospect of slipping up on one solitary day having double the consequences for him. She shot him the "Eyebrow of Doom" as a warning that he had best not forget the fifth day of March's significance. Then she noticed an apprehension in the back of his mind. She didn't want to pry too much as her urge to mate again began to swell within her but her curiosity had to at least be partially sated.

"You are keeping something from me T'hy'la, something related to the Enterprise's current mission?"

Trip signed heavily and hugged her tighter "you don't need to know anything in your present condition."

T'pol turned her head back toward him and spoke through their bond _"even in my present condition I am still First Officer of this vessel Commander. By now my husband should know better than to expect to keep anything secret from me. Our minds are one."_

With that Trip relented "Doc wouldn't tell me a whole lot but I know we are taking aboard the brand new Bolian Ambassador to Earth and her staff of thirty and heading straight home."

The revelation struck her as significant and Trip could feel her apprehension and fear swelling within "baby, what's wrong?"

She tucked herself tighter into him "it is the Romulans T'hy'la; it has to be because of the Romulans. Hopefully, nothing will occur before we both can and should return to duty by the end of this week."

Trip blinked in surprise till he realized she must have read his thoughts about Phlox telling him that her Pon Farr would be extended by the microbes.

 _"_ _Of course I read your thoughts ashal, but considering a normal Pon Farr would have ended two days ago it was no great mystery to me that this one would take longer."_

She added out loud "you will need to increase your caloric intake to compensate for the longer Pon Farr's additional demands on your performance." The thought of injecting him with the Triox compound again stimulated her.

"Woman, don't even think about!"

She laughed, he loved her laugh. He was going to miss that when all this was over and she could feel it.

"I will try laughing in the meditative state when I am normal again, but I cannot promise you anything T'hy'la."

The fact that she was willing to try was enough to satisfy her understanding bondmate and the appreciation they had for one another helped fuel their desires. He slowly slid the hand that was stroking the outside of her thigh to the inside of it and upward till she released a deep breath that even she didn't realize she had been holding. He kissed her ear and asked, "are you going to be able to not wake up again?"

She purred back, eyes closed in sensational enjoyment "that is highly doubtful Love."

He kissed her neck with a broad grin across his face "oh well, I guess I've slept enough."

* * *

He was very glad to be back in his uniform, even the more formal dress uniform, and was surprisingly hungry. In fact, he was quite famished after his ordeal. So much so that he had to work not to devour his food. Jon Archer sat to the left of the Sooba'Dar at the head of the largest circular table he had ever seen. All the guests sat on the outside rim of the table as the food, a mix of Human and Bolian fare that was meant to symbolize the event itself, slowly rotated along the inner edge of the table within easy arms reach of each guest. As each plate came to the end of the path a server would remove it and whisk it off through doors at the end of the room as more items came out from the same area and were placed onto the rotating track to make its way around the room.

In the great circular area in the middle of the room, one new act of performances would perform after the other. Each act interesting enough to often capture one's attention but not too invasive to stop good conversations or the meal.

The Enterprise's crew and the members of the ECA were joined as guests by representatives from other worlds that had regular diplomatic relations with Bolarus. No two Bolians sat side by side and the Enterprise's crew often had guests come up to them and knell beside them to exchange stories and pleasantries. The Bolian people's jovial nature and hospitality were well known and they were giving a good display here.

To Jon's left was one of the older Sooba'Das who had been first to apply her welcoming hand to his backside. To Jon's infinite surprise she had once been a starship pilot and told the Captain many lively stories of outrunning Nausican raiders and the best techniques for hiding in the stellar phenomenon and planetary magnetic layers. Travis, who sat to her left, was equally engaged by the elderly Bolian woman's tales of spacefaring adventures.

To the Sooba'Dar's right hand sat Hoshi, who had garnered her Excellency's full attention for a good portion of the dinner. Apparently, they shared a mutual interest in both languages and embarrassing Jon in public.

The other of the two most elderly Sooba'Das sat next to Hoshi and would wink and smile at Jon every time he glanced in her direction. Every time she did this he would blush and smile back before turning away quickly. Noticing this exchange, the Sooba'Dar leaned in and whispered in his ear "be mindful of Kay'kara, her husband left this life during their lovemaking many decades ago and I've heard she burns through her youthful lovers within days." Both Jon and Hoshi, who was the other person in earshot, gave respectful and fearful glances at the small and previously assumed fragile elder.

Phlox was on the elder lady's right side and they were fully engaged in conversation when she wasn't busy ogling the Captain. On Phlox's right was his equal in conversing skills. Kad'mahar Genlo was to be the Bolian Ambassador to Earth's chief of staff and had already gotten to know the crewmembers before he had been introduced to Jon after he was allowed to leave the beautiful acolytes' presence for the second time. Vicky sat next to Genlo and was also listening intently to his and the Doctor's traded stories.

Beside Travis sat the beautiful young woman who was a younger version of the Sooba'Dar herself and was to become Bolarus Magnificent's first Ambassador to Earth. Tallshi Sol'lan was surprisingly quiet for a Bolian but just as attentive to what was going on around her as her grandmother. She was often engaged in conversation with Travis about the journey to Earth and with the newly appointed Earth Ambassador to Bolarus McCants about what to expect when she got to Earth, but for the most part, she just listened to the others speak. You could never tell with alien species but if she were older than Vicky Jon would have been very surprised. On McCants's left, Malcolm was fully engaged in conversation with a slightly older uniformed Bolian male whom the Sooba'Dar informed him was her chief defense advisor. Of all the people at the table, none were more fully engaged in intense conversation as these two. No doubt both were discreetly grilling each other for every bit of information they could about what had to be their mutual conversation piece, the Romulan threat.

The lusty Sooba'Da Kay'kara looked at Hoshi and patted her on the hand, then asked her "how long have you and your Lieutenant Mal'Colm been lovers?" Hoshi's eyes went wide and she began to choke on a cough. Jon's eyebrow did Its best impression of T'pol as he enjoyed this brief moment of revenge at the expense of his Communication's Officer. The Sooba'Dar gently chided her elder. "Kay'kara, you are not being sensitive to our guests. They are not as open sexually as we are". "Oh," Kay'kara said in reply, "no wonder I can't get him to play right with me", pointing a long boney blue finger and devious smile at Jon. She patted Hoshi on the hand again "hope I didn't get you and Mal'Colm in trouble with your handsome pink Captain? If he gives you any trouble over it send him my way, I'll straighten him out on the topic!" Phlox, who had been listening in, began to laugh uncontrollably. Hoshi, now recovered from her coughing fit, defended herself "It's alright I'm sure". Jon noted that Hoshi didn't deny anything either.

Cutting his gaze toward Malcolm the Sooba'Dar also followed his stare, but not for the same reason. "They appear to have a great deal to say to one another," she said gently to his ear. "hopefully they're both learning something new" Jon replied, then changed the topic. "I hate to ask but where are your facilities located?" She seemed puzzled "our defense facilities?" Jon smiled back, "I'm sure we'll discuss that later, but I need to know where one can relieve their body of waste?" She giggled and smiled "I understand now". With that, she beaconed to an attendant who discreetly walked Jon out of the room and down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, he indicated that Jon should continue down the next hall. Jon went on by himself to the end of the hallway where he came upon five doors, all marked with a temporary sign in English marked "Restroom". Assuming they were individual restrooms for one person at a time Jon went in the last one.

Once inside he realized the room was much larger and meant for multiple users, but as the door had not been marked for specific sexes he had no idea if he were in the right place. Considering that the Bolians were not very bashful on male/female related issues he had no doubt it was a unisex facility and resolved to hurry before a female came in. Bolian toilets were a bit different than standard Starfleet Heads but luckily English instructions had been posted and Jon had been brief. He was washing his hands when someone else entered. Glancing over he instantly recognized the purple-eyed acolyte who had been the speaker for her group during both "relaxation" sessions from earlier in the day. She still wore that see-through gauzy wrap that showed her feminine perfection. She smiled at him intently "hello Jon, I was hoping I'd see you before you left." Jon nodded back "hello…again, I'll be out of here in just a second." She showed her pearl white teeth through her plump blue lips, "no need to rush, I heard you needed to relieve yourself and I wanted to assist you." Jon blinked at her unusual offer "um, thank you very much, but most Humans prefer to do that alone and I'm already done." She smiled benignly and shook her head, "not that Jon, may I call you Jon?" he tentatively nodded yes as he back up slightly at her approach. "I wanted to help FULLY relieve you, again" she purred as she placed both hands on his chest, "my name is Cel'Lya". Jon smiled nervously down at her "nice to meet you today Cel'Lya, I should get back to the…." She kissed him softly but with intent. Jon didn't know what came over him but he responded eagerly. Within seconds they had gone through a door in the back of the restroom Jon hadn't even noticed was there. Inside the same room was a cushioned table and she had him leaning against it. "What kind of room is this?" he asked her once their lips had parted. She smiled "human's don't consider copulation something that needs to be released?" Jon replied between their lips dancing "yes, but not in a bathroom". "Well that's alright Jon," she said "we Bolians do", and within seconds she had his dress uniform on the ornate tile floor. There was no need for her to remove the gauzy wrap.

* * *

Sometime later Jon walked back into what had been the dining hall. The huge circular table was gone, and the guests were now mingling on foot with libations in hand. The nearest attendant pressed a drink into his hand as he searched for the members of his crew amongst the crowd. The Sooba'Dar saw him first and motioned him over where she was talking with Ambassador McCants and Phlox. "I hope you're feeling better?" she asked with a knowing smile. "Yes ma'am" he replied somewhat more meekly than a starship captain should. At that moment the beautiful Cel'Lya glided up and whispered in the Sooba'Dar's ear. When she had finished both turned to smile at Jon, then Cel'Lya glided past him while gently brushing his cheek with her lips. As she broke contact she used those lips to speak into his ear "you were magnificent Jon, thank you. I certainly hope to see you again before you leave". As her supple form retreated into the crowd Jon instinctively followed her with his eyes, a broad smile on his face. " _I wasn't the only one who was magnificent",_ he thought to himself as he turned around only to see Hoshi and Vicki both looking at him with intrigue and the Doctor clearly amused with the whole exchange. Jon became serious again and turned to the Sooba'Dar, who also seemed to be quite amused by the circumstances.

He began, "I was wondering when you'd like me to return to the planet for our further discussions?"

The Sooba'Dar blinked in surprise at him. "We can discuss these things tonight before we retire to our rooms for the evening, or perhaps over breakfast in the morning."

It was his turn to be surprised. "We hadn't planned on staying on the planet overnight…."

"NONSENSE!" she exhorted. "What kind of host would we be if we forced you to fly back to your ship only to return hours later?"

Jon was going to protest but she cut him off. "I insist that you and your staff should stay here with me in the palace. I will not take no for an answer Jonathan."

To his own surprise, he was in no mood to argue the point. "Very well Your Excellency, but some of my staff will need to return to the ship to do their duties."

The Sooba'Dar gaffed at this notion "because the officers you left in their places are incompetent? I think not!"

Jon sighed, "I at least need to send Mister Reed back to the ship. At least one senior officer needs to be in place on the ship should we have unannounced visitors enter the system."

Vicki could feel Hoshi emotionally deflate beside her at the Captain's intent to send her paramour back to the ship.

The Sooba'Dar was a tough opponent though. "Did you leave someone in charge of your precious ship that you think is too dumb to at least know how to use that…um….." She turned to Ambassador McCants "what's that device your people have that converts people to energy and back again called?"

"Ah! The transporter, Your Excellency" he replied.

"Yes, that thing" she turned back to the Captain "does the officer you left in charge not know how to use the….trans'Por'tar, to beam you up in an emergency?"

"Well…" was all Jon could get out before she verbally slammed him again.

"You left your First Officer and Chief Engineer on board as well. I understand they are somewhat sick but recovering. Surely they can get you aboard in time if you're needed?"

At that moment Ambassador McCants stepped in. "Captain, your crew has been on the ship for a couple of months now and it will take a few days for the vessels you'll escort back to Earth space to congregate here. Perhaps some of the rest of your staff would also enjoy some shore leave?"

It was a bad idea to argue with the leader of an entire world and the representative of your own Government at the same time.

"That's…..not a bad idea." Jon conceded. "Hoshi, coordinate with Ensign Kristakova. Let's have no more than twenty crewmen planet-side for no more than twelve hours at a time. That should be enough to get everyone planet-side for a bit within the next few days, without allowing the ship to go too under-manned."

"Aye, Sir" the Ensign replied. "Do you want me to inform Lieutenant Reed to return to Enterprise as well Sir?" Even to her own ears, her question sounded way too much like a plea.

The Captain squinted slightly at her when she asked the question, only to notice the Sooba'Dar squinting slightly at him in reproach.

With a sigh heavier than he intended to give he answered her. "No Ensign, Mister Reed can stay planet-side for now."

Hoshi visibly reasserted her usual positive attitude at his words. "I'll coordinate with Ensign Kristakova on shore leave for the crew immediately, Sir, and I'll get someone to look after Porthos while you're down here."

The Captain nodded in approval.

Vicki thought Hoshi might break into a skip as she retreated to a quiet corner to contact the ship.

The next thing Jon knew, the Sooba'Dar had her arm in his and was pulling him back into the crowd with her.

"See Jonathan, that wasn't so hard" she grinned up at him. "The Chamberlain has already laid out your guest rooms and we'll have all kinds of fun together till I'm forced to let you go."

Jon smiled back "I've had considerable….'fun' here already."

She cocked her head at him. "I know Cel'Lya will be pleased to have you around for a few more days. She may even bring a few of the girls back with her for more 'fun'."

He could feel his cheeks starting to warm up again, which was becoming an all too familiar sensation as of late to him.

Then she applied her dagger stroke.

"Or if you need someone more experienced, Kay'kara would be happy to visit you, I'm sure."

Had he had a drink in his mouth he was sure he would have sprayed it across the room then. The Sooba'Dar beamed with self-satisfaction at his attempt to hide his mortification.

After a few enjoyable giggles, the Sooba'Dar then asked in a curious tone "what is a Por'Thos?"

* * *

The far too gorgeous acolyte in her gauzy see-through wrap led Hoshi and Vicki up a magnificent staircase that was made of some type of blue-veined grey marble. The staircase could have held hundreds but they were the only three on it. As they turned off the last flight of steps they could see the massive hallway beyond.

"Males are not allowed on this floor" the acolyte informed them. "These rooms are usually reserved for visiting female dignitaries and visiting Sooba'Das."

"The Sooba'Dar honors us" Hoshi added. "She is a most generous and gracious host."

Vicki nodded in agreement.

As they approached the end of the opulent hallway the acolyte indicated the second door on the left. As she swung the large double doors open she said, "this will be the young lady's room".

Hoshi and Vicki both dropped their jaws wide open in amazement.

The acolyte smiled knowingly at their reaction. "I see that you are…pleased?"

They both slowly nodded in agreement, their mouths still wide open.

Around and above them where the ceiling and walls should have been was a nearly perfect holographic projection of the gardens surrounding the Sobba'Darian Palace. Exotic birds flew through the air, white clouds slowly moved across the sky, the flowers bent with the slight breeze….they could even feel the breeze."

"This is our most accurate projection" the acolyte added, "because it's in real-time. Sensors around the Palace transmit the sights, sounds and even the scents from the flowers in the Palace garden directly into your rooms' holoprojectors and environmental settings."

"This is amazing" Vicki exclaimed. Hoshi found herself still nodding with her mouth only now slightly open.

"We have numerous other settings as well" their guide continued. "If you'd follow me to the Ensign's room I can show you more."

Once they entered Hoshi's room they were once again floored by what they saw.

"I can't believe it!" Hoshi said after several minutes of amazement "it Japan! It's home!"

In the distance of her room's holographic ceiling was the ocean, its waves pulsating in rhythm against the shoreline. A torii gate stood on the slight outcropping of land that jutted out into the bay. All along the pebble pathway that stretched off into the distance toward the gate were cherry trees, their blossoms just barely beginning to bud.

"This is…..I just don't have the words…Unbelievable!"

The acolyte smiled again and said, "inhale deeply and tell me what you smell."

When she did she could smell the grass, and the salty sea air, and the cherry blossoms in the air; but something wasn't quite right about the smell of the blossoms. The acolyte was very perceptive and saw a slight disappointment in her reaction.

"It's not quite right, is it?" she asked Hoshi.

"It's almost perfect! The salt air on the breeze, the seabirds in the air, even the grass. It's just….the cherry blossom scent is a little off."

Their guide nodded in understanding. "Our holographic technicians were able to recreate environments on other worlds whenever travels would bring images and recordings from their worlds here. The humans that brought this image had almost everything we needed to accurately recreate the environment, except the scent of real cherry blossoms. They did have something similar though, it was an actual cherry fruit, but apparently, that's not quite the same smell."

Hoshi suddenly remembered that she had a way to fix this.

"On Enterprise in a potpourri container in my quarters, I have real cherry blossoms. I can send some down here once I get back there if you think that would help your techs recreate the smell?"

"With real blossoms, they will have no issue recreating the fragrance! This is most generous of you!"

"Compared to how we have been treated by you and your people, it is the very least I can do to repay the kindness you've shown us."

Vicki added, "the next time someone from Earth experiences this environment it will be one hundred percent perfect!"

The acolyte's bright, smiling face took on a slightly bitter sweetness then. "Yes indeed, let us hope so."

Hoshi was instantly reminded that there was a distinct possibility it would be a very long time, if ever before a Human might set foot on this world again. The Bolians had done a good job hiding their anxiety in front of their guests, but the clouds of war and potential enslavement to the Romulan aggressors had to hang heavy over their daily lives.

With only a slight delay the acolyte again returned to her previous joyful attitude. "There are several other Earth-based holograms as well as hundreds of other environments from numerous other worlds."

She briefly showed them how to use the holoprojector settings and how to call for assistance before retreating from the room. Evening meal would be in a few hours and Vicki had gone to her room to take a nap. Hoshi was still restless from the day's excitements though and decided to explore the palace, starting with her own bathroom.

Once again opulence was on full display. The centerpiece of the room was a sunken bathtub that would best be described as a luxury Jacuzzi or a small swimming pool. She briefly considered taking a bath but decided to save that experience for later.

She then noticed a vaguely hidden door on the side of the wall. With a slight push, the door glided easily open. To her surprise, a small staircase on the other side lead downward. Intrigued, she let her curiosity carry her down the stairwell to the next level. When she made it to the bottom there was another hidden door.

 _"Oh well,"_ she thought _"I've come this far."_

She gently pulled the door open. Within was a bathroom similar to the one above it, but with slight differences in colors and accents. The bath in the center of the floor was full of soap bubbles swirling in the water jets, and right in the middle of it all sat…..

"MALCOLM!"

"HO…..HOSHI! What are you doing in my bathroom?"

Hoshi began to laugh hysterically.

"I don't see what's so funny?" Malcolm tried to say with as much dignity as her laughter and his nakedness would allow him. He quickly covered the area between his legs with both hands and as many bubbles as he could gather.

Hoshi was still laughing as she took off her clothes and entered the water. Malcolm's sully attitude was instantly changed by that.

* * *

Dinner had been a far more intimate affair than the welcome reception and luncheon earlier in the day. For that Jon was indeed grateful. In the course of one afternoon he had been paraded naked in front of a few thousand Bolians, other aliens and most of his command staff; not to mention a teenage cadet he'd just met hours before. He'd been publicly assaulted by several very heavy-handed Bolian ladies too. In less nuanced times in Earth's past, someone might have called his experiences today sexual assault. He'd also had a random sexual encounter in a bathroom with a very attractive blue lady, which he also had to file in his mind as one of the more positive of the day's experiences for him.

He had been extremely glad that Trip and T'pol hadn't been on the surface with him today. Trip would never have let him forget what had occurred. He would have had a lifetime of fun reminding Jon over and over again about it. Had T'pol witnessed today's events it might have taken upward of a year for Jon to have the courage to look her in the eyes again. As it were, he wasn't sure he could look Phlox in the face right now, and the Doctor undoubtedly thought there was nothing for Jon to be embarrassed about from today.

Then there was Erika.

He hadn't even thought of Erika till later after he had….done what he'd done. They weren't a couple per se. Not a couple in a traditional sense of the concept. They had been coworkers, friends, lovers, friends again, lovers again; but never really anything official. Still, Jon felt guilt. Whatever Erika and he were to each other at this point, it was enough to make him feel bad about being with another woman; but it didn't seem to be enough to make him regret it like he thought he should. That was a whole other bag of problems for him that he didn't need to look too deeply into tonight though. Not with the Romulans potentially around the corner. Like most of his relationship with the lovely captain of the NX-02 Columbia over the years, it would have to wait till another day; but at his age, when would another day finally become today? Would it ever?

He tried to shake off the building cobwebs of regret trying to envelop around him as he ascended the stairs.

He entered his room. The holographic ceiling sky was set to match the 360-degree vista around the palace. Light clouds streaked in grey slid high across the sky. The ink black night was dotted with twinkling stars in unfamiliar constellations. There off to the upper left was one of Bolarus's three moons, the other two were not visible till later in the morning at this time of the planet's tri-lunar cycle. Then off to the right just a couple of degrees above the horizon, was a tiny looking multi-colored smudge, the Bassen Rift Nebula. Once hidden behind the thermobaric cloud that had only a year before contained the Delphic Expanse, its appearance in the skies of Bolarus and several other planets in this sector was thought by many of those world's inhabitants to be a heavenly sign of the dawning of a new age. The Sooba'Dar had told him just that evening about how much her people had become fascinated by the sudden appearance of the new phenomenon in their nightly sky.

 _"It's a new age for their people alright; but will it be one of peace and security or subservience to the Romulan Star Empire?"_

Then Jon had another morbid thought, _"if not for what we did last year, these people wouldn't even know the Romulans existed. They should have hanged me when I landed for destroying the Expanse and opening the road to their eventual conquest."_

He turned toward the door that led to the bathroom. Having been on Enterprise for the last five years, Jon was used to taking showers. The bathrooms in the Sooba'Darian Palace had every possible amenity, except for a shower. He filled the massive in-floor tub in the center of the room, folded his clothes neatly on a dressing chair, and entered the warm water. After allowing the heat and the water jets to work their magic on his sore muscles he began to finally relax. For the first time all day he felt he could think straight. He reviewed the day's events over in his mind and the itinerary for the next day. He looked for ways he could have done better and the ways he could do his best tomorrow. He came to the conclusion that most of the day's events had been driven by the Sooba'Dar's own agenda and that any mistakes he might have made were well covered by the Bolian's extremely forgiving nature. Either the Bolians would be the one species the unforgiving Kreetassans would actually be able to get along with, or their completely opposite societies would be like oil and water. Jon snickered at the thought of the Sooba'Dar cutting the Sacred Tree all covered in leaves and sap.

After a few minutes more of lounging the Captain extended out his arm for the communicator he had placed strategically near the tub.

"Archer to Enterprise."

["Enterprise here, Sir."]

Jon recognized the voice of Lieutenant Lunasha Mahajan, the beta shift bridge science office. With so many of the senior staff either in "quarantine" on G deck or down on the planet with him, a lot of the other officers were getting time in the Big Chair. Mahajan was basically T'pol's executive officer within Enterprise's science department. Jon was a little surprised she hadn't taken the Commander's forced vacation as an opportunity to work on alpha shift more, but then he realized she was probably only working as officer of the deck tonight and not as science officer. A slight pang of guilt hit him then. Here he was "overly" enjoying himself down on the planet, while his junior crew members were pulling double shifts back on the ship.

"Status report, Lieutenant."

["Nothing unusual to report Captain. The first shore leave party of sixteen will be returning to Enterprise in approximately one hour, with the second group starting down at the same time. We've performed level three diagnostics on all sensor arrays, engineering systems, and defensive systems with no anomalies to report."]

"Excellent, Lieutenant" Jon replied. Lunasha was a very competent officer and regularly scored high on her reviews, which considering that T'pol did her reviews, said a lot about just how good she was at her job. She'd probably be among the first officers plucked from Enterprise's crew whenever Admiral M'benga's 'crew amnesty' came to a sudden end. She was also extremely attractive. Jon began to wonder what woman on Enterprise he didn't find attractive, he couldn't come up with one at that moment.

 _"When did I become such an old pervert?"_

The Lieutenant asked ["is there anything else I can do for you, Sir?"]

Jon realized he had drifted off into his own thoughts for a bit too long.

"No Lieutenant" he replied "Lieutenant Reed should return to Enterprise by the afternoon tomorrow. Make sure you're on the next shore leave down to the planet once he is on board."

She replied ["Aye, Sir."]

"Archer out."

He put the communicator down and began to relax again. If he weren't careful he might fall asleep in the hot water.

 _"I can see the headlines back home now. 'Famous Starship Captain Drowns in Bathtub during Diplomatic Mission'."_

He began to chuckle at the thought.

"What is so amusing Jonathan?"

He jumped up in the middle of the water at the sound of the unexpected voice.

"Cel'Lya…..how did you get in here?" he suddenly realized he was standing up naked in the tub and dropped back down into it.

That seemed to amuse her "too late! I've seen you that way before!"

He could feel his cheeks warming in embarrassment.

"There's a door right here." She pushed on it to reveal the hidden passage beyond. "It goes to the room above this one, on the ladies' floor."

Jon's eyes widened "who's in that room tonight?"

"No one" she replied, "I locked the door behind me before I came down."

Then as if it had been held on by magic, the see-through wrap she wore, that really left nothing to the imagination to begin with, fell effortlessly to the floor.

There she stood in her naked beauty; bald, blue, and with a ridge down the centerline of her body, but absolutely identical to a Human woman in every other way.

As she glided smoothly into the water and approached him, something inside him wanted to protest; but too much more of him didn't want those words to come out.

As she slid in close and wrapped her arms around him, she glided her lips across his; and Jonathan Archer let the rest of his Universe disappear.

* * *

They both wore somber Vulcan robes, their two fingers gently touching as they stood above the bier. Laid out upon the bier was a well built Vulcan man in the traditional burial robes of his clan, his name and clan name embroidered along the left-hand side of the front in the flowing vertical swirls that her people wrote in.

"Sorcon, son of Talek, son of S'vork; of the clan Kal'tor'Natha'on - Rahl. Subcommander of the Vulcan Defense Forces."

It was only after he said the name and titles that Trip realized he had spoken in Vulcan.

"Sa-mekh" she said beside him, infusing the Vulcan word for "father" with as much emotion as he'd ever heard from her.

He could feel her pain and grief washing over him. The love and devotion she had for the man laid out in front of them were so palpable he felt he could taste it. He wanted to sooth away her pain.

"It is alright ashal, this memory is from a long time ago. I have had decades to reconcile my emotions about it. Your own father was only a young teenager when this occurred, and your mother was my age. I was in my eighth year of life."

Despite her words, he knew this still hurt her intensely.

Trip again contemplated the man laid before them. "He has a kind face, for a Vulcan," he said, instantly realizing he should have thought that phrase out more before saying it.

 _"There is no need to apologize T'hy'la, I indeed know what you meant."_ Her mental reassurance comforting him, even though he still felt stupid for blurting that out.

"He seems to be a young man" Trip spoke aloud. "How did he die so young?"

She took a deep breath and began "he had just been promoted to an executive officer aboard a Defense Force vessel. Several of the science crew had gone down to a planet to take detailed readings. An intense electrical storm formed immediately over their landing site. They tried to take cover near a rock formation. As leader of the away team, my father was responsible for their safety. He made sure that every member had reached cover, but as he began to follow them toward the rocks, he was struck by a lightning discharge."

All Trip could muster in response was…."Damn".

"Damn, indeed" she agreed.

"Ko-mekh and I tried to take comfort in the fact that he died doing what was important to him and protecting those in his charge."

Trip could feel through the bond that even now that provided her with little of the comfort it was supposed to.

In the not too far distance Trip heard the ringing of a mournful gong. Just as the first echo of sound from it had faded it was struck again. He could feel it vibrating his bones.

A shadow came through the passage to their right. The bright Vulcan suns casting the approaching figure in darkness until she was upon them. This version of T'Les was younger than the person Trip had known in real life. He was surprised by how attractive she was, even in her mourning robes. She looked a lot like T'pol, but slightly different as well.

As she approached the foot of the bier her sad eyes never left her husband's body, her sa-telus.

"Ko-fu" she addressed her daughter without moving her eyes. "The clan has assembled, it is time to perform the last rites."

As Trip turned to his ko-telus, he saw her now as a child of eight, tears forming in the corners of her eyes but refusing to release themselves down her cheeks. He realized from his own viewing angle that he too was now a younger version of himself again too.

He could feel her anger and rage swelling within her. "He had no right to leave us" she stated while staring intensely at her father's corpse.

The barely concealed anger in her daughter's tiny voice broke T'Les's eyes from her dead husband and toward her suffering pi'yel.

"You must not think that your sa-mekh would abandon us" T'Les intoned gently to her child. "Your sa-mekh spent every day of his existence thinking first and foremost of his pi'yel."

"Don't call me that. Don't ever call me that again." Young T'pol's eyes flashed the anger at her mother that her mouth would not allow itself to transmit.

No amount of Vulcan stoicism could hide the hurt and concern in T'Les's visage.

The gongs' presence was reasserted then. It seemed to allow T'Les to redirect the conversation to what had to happen next.

"Your father's clan and colleagues are here to honor his life and achievements. You and I must lead the way. We are his family, we must be in front of all those that honor the life of Sorcon, son of Talek, son of S'vork."

The little ball of tension next to him seemed to curl up even tighter now.

"Why?" the tiny voice asked with intent.

Her mother was caught off guard by the surprising question. "Why what, my child?"

"Why are _they_ here to honor him? They never honored him while he was alive. They always treated him differently than any of the other clan members. They looked on him as some kind of….mistake. So I ask mother, why are they here to honor him now, when all of his life they treated him like refuse?"

T'Les's eyes were wide with amazement. After a long moment to collect her thoughts she responded.

"My child is very knowledgeable and perceptive for one so young."

She continued "your father was unique. He was outspoken and not afraid to say what he thought, even when he was young, and even when he probably should not have spoken. It is different than what most of our people consider normal. He also struggled more than most with his emotional control, but he always honored his clan, and now they are here to honor him."

"They say the same things about me," T'pol said. "I've heard the other children and even the adults talk about me. 'That's the emotional one', 'she's the one with no control', 'she's her father's daughter'."

T'Les looked on her child with sympathy showing in her eyes.

"Does it bother you that they call you your father's child?"

T'pol flashed defiant eyes at her mother "NO!"

Trip felt another gong blow tingle up his spine.

T'Les looked with resolve toward her angry little girl. "Then, as you take pride in the life of your father, so too will you honor him now in this most difficult moment. It is time, Daughter of Sorcon, to say our final farewells. It is also time to show those that call you emotional, that they are wrong."

All the tension in his T'hy'la melted away to sad resolve. She and her mother both looked one last time on the husband and father that meant so much to them, then they both turned to face the bright, open passageway outside. From T'Les's right hand extended two fingers. Her daughter moved toward her.

Trip had been an invisible witness to these past events, but at that moment the two fingers she had never removed from his, turned into a sudden intense handhold, she glanced back, young pleading eyes staring into his.

"Don't leave me T'hy'la" the pretty brown haired girl with the elf ears said to him.

"Never Love" and he slid in beside her.

With her free left hand, she reached two fingers up toward her mother's fingers. One last glance back at her father with a tear threatening to escape her eye, then all three moved toward the brightness beyond the passageway, toward the sound of the calling gong.


	9. Chapter 9

Travis couldn't remember a better away mission.

The holographically projected sky of Korvos Prime's capital city stretched out on all angles from his position. It was like he had slept on a bed outside, on the top of one of the city's numerous skyscrapers. All around him were other familiar skyscrapers. The white sun of the Korvos system had not risen above the horizon yet. He had intentionally frozen the image to keep it at this moment right before sunrise. Only the faintest pale pinks and greens along the edge of the western reaches threatened to ruin the perfect night sky. He knew from having been to Korvos Prime many times aboard his parents' ship, that the winds near the top of the skyscrapers were much more intense then the occasional light breeze the room's environmental unit would waft toward him. Somehow he managed not to care about that inaccuracy.

To his right, the acolyte named Hal'Nya stirred slightly. She was lying on her side turned away from him. The feminine curve of her ample hips silhouetted beneath the Triaxian silk sheets was more beautiful than any skyline could ever hope to be.

Tucked neatly in the nock of his left arm was Hal'Nya's sister acolyte, Nay'Al. The sheets had the same effect across her bare, full chest as they did with Hal'Nya's body.

Travis smiled contently as he thought to himself again _"best away mission…ever"._

The night before Travis had told Hoshi, Malcolm, Vicki, and Phlox goodnight. He proceeded to his room with the intention of getting a nice hot bath and a good night's sleep.

He had been surprised to hear splashing noises in his bathroom. He'd been more surprised to find Hal'Nay and Nay'Al frolicking together playfully in his massive bathtub. Much of what happened next was something Travis would remember fondly for the rest of his life.

Not too much time later, the ladies awoke and again reminded him why this was indeed the very best away mission ever.

 _"_ _Dad clearly was taking us to all the wrong worlds."_

The morning round of fun started under the covers and finished in the bathtub, the reverse of the night before.

Nay'Al turned to him as he lay on a lounge chair after he'd dried off, "must you go back to your ship tonight?" she playfully pleaded with him. Hal'Nay added. "Kel'Len, Vol'Ka and Tre'Lan were so hoping to get better acquainted with you Tra'Vis."

That made Travis sit up and take notice. "I think you two are more than enough fun for me."

They smiled wickedly at him as they slid with ease into their see-through wraps. Travis thought _"why even bother ladies?"_

After seeing them in their ful naked glory, the wraps now seemed superfluous to him. He had already forgotten how titillating they had seemed just a half day earlier.

Then he thought _"how can I get the Captain to let me stay again tonight?"_

Suddenly from the room next door came a hard thud, as if something very heavy had landed on the floor from a great height.

Travis set up with a bolt. The palace was of such a solid construction that you shouldn't be able to even hear a phaser battle in the room next door. It had to have been something massive to make such a noise.

"That's Phlox's room!" he stated in concern. By the way Nay'Al and Hal'Nay's eyes were wide open in surprise, this clearly was not a normal sound inside the palace.

Travis grabbed his robe and went to the doorway. The two equally curious blue beauties followed him in tow.

As he opened the door he found the door opposite his wide open. There in his bathrobe was a very surprised Malcolm Reed, and peering down the hallway from around his back was a robe enclosed Hoshi Sato.

Malcolm and Travis locked eyes.

Travis thought devilishly _"too late Lieutenant! You're caught!"_

Travis's sudden beaming smile at his discovery of facts he already knew only served to make Malcolm blush with indignity. Malcolm went ramrod straight, his face contorted in an attempt at a serious expression, but it only served to make him look more ridiculously guilty.

In contrast, Hoshi barely noticed Travis, intent on finding out what the sudden noise had been down the hallway. A moment later she finally noticed her friend, and his two blue companions. At the same moment, the embarrassed Lieutenant seemed to also see the mostly naked Bolian ladies. Hoshi's expression changed to a grinning smirk while Malcolm's expression could best be described as admiring shock.

All Travis could do in response was quirk his smile to one side and add a slight shrug.

Hoshi added a slight side to side movement of her head to her previous mocking smirk in reply. Malcolm on the other hand seemed to have a hard time removing his eyes from Nay'Al and Hal'Nay's supple forms.

Then the sound of an opening door down the hall turned everyone's attention back toward where the noise had apparently originated. Three blue acolytes in the same type of see-through wraps as Travis's companions walked giggling and laughing out of Phlox's room.

"Seriously ladies", Phlox said as he followed them out into the hallway…..completely naked, "I seriously thought the bed could support me in that position. It looks so sturdy!"

The three acolytes began laughing again at his words.

Nay'Al called down the hallway "Vol'Ka, what was that noise?"

Vol'Ka replied with a smile "The Doctor was trying to show us a…um…..technique from his homeworld, Denobula Triax." She beamed back at Phlox who had the other two acolytes in each of his arms, kissing him on either side of his extra-wide beaming face. She continued "apparently we'll need to strengthen our beds before Doctor Phlox comes to visit us again."

This time they were joined in their laughter by Nay'Al and Hal'Nay.

All the three other members of Enterprise's crew could do was stare at the spectacle with gapping mouths.

Then the door across from the Doctor's room opened and Captain Archer stepped out into the hallway. Malcolm suddenly grabbed Hoshi by the arm and pushed her back into his room. To Travis's surprise, Hoshi managed not to make a sudden noise as he did so.

"Doctor, what's going on out…AWK!...DOCTOR! You couldn't even put a towel on?"

The look of mortification on the Captain's face was priceless.

"I don't know" the Doctor replied, "the girls seem to think I look just fine this way. When in Rome, Captain."

All the girls began to laugh again and the Captain's eyes finally noticed Travis and Malcolm, and Travis's own two blue friends. Only a slight smirk curled a corner of his lips up in response before he refocused on the Doctor.

"What in the hell was that noise from your room Phlox?"

"Well Captain….um….." the girls began to giggle again as Phlox looked for the right words, "it seems I…..broke….the bed." Their giggles again turned into lusty playful laughter.

Jon sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. After a long release of air from his lungs, the Captain said: "….everyone fine?"

"Of course" Phlox replied, his three blue companions smiled as they nodded in agreement.

Jon sighed again "…okay, good. Um….carry on."

One could tell he instantly regretted using the last words but Phlox and company didn't seem to notice.

With that, the doctor let his three companions gently pull him back into his room. "Well ladies, let's see what fun we can have with a broken bed!" More giggles were soon muffled by the closing door.

The Captain shook his head in bewilderment before looking back down the hallway. Hal'Nay and Nay'Al were already tugging at Travis's robe to get him back in his room.

Malcolm cleared his throat before saying "well, good, that's settled", and turned to reenter his room.

"Lieutenant" the Captain called down the hallway.

Malcolm stopped in his tracts and turned to face his commanding officer. "Yes, Sir?"

"Tell Hoshi I'll need to see her after breakfast."

Malcolm was about to attempt a blubbering response when Hoshi leaned out from behind him and did so for him. "Yes, Sir!"

Malcolm again turned a bright shade of pink before turning on his bare heels and reentering his room with all the dignity he could while wearing a bath robe.

As the door closed Travis couldn't help but finally snicker. Hal'Nay tugged on his robe again. She and Nay'Al were clearly not done with him yet, but before he stepped out of the line of sight with the Captain, he saw a slender blue arm grab the sleeve of the Captain's robe to tug him back into his own room.

 _"_ _Well, I'll be damn!"_ Travis thought _"good for you Captain!"_

* * *

It had been a restful night. Jon couldn't pretend that Cel'Lya hadn't found the best possible way to relax him after a stressful day. He still wasn't totally comfortable with what he was doing with her, and his thoughts always drifted toward Erika once he was on his own again, but he decided he needed to deal with his romantic issues when he had less pressing problems facing him.

The attendant was taking him toward breakfast with the Sooba'Dar. He figured that now the formalities were out of the way, they'd have a chance to finally get to the details of ironing out agreements between the Coalition of Planets and Bolarus Magnificent.

As the attendant led him through high stain-glass doors and onto the terrace beyond, Jonathan could see they'd have another guest with them this morning. The empty seat clearly meant for him was to the right of the Sooba'Dar. On her other side sat the venerable and ancient Sooba'Da Kay'kara, whom immediately continued her geriatric flirtations from the reception the day before by waving at Jon with a slight flicker of her fingers while winking at him. Jon had begun to think he was going to become quite used to blushing after the last two days of constant face flushing.

"Here's our beautiful, pink hero…..finally!" Kay'kara screeched at Jon with delight "how dare you keep us waiting for you when you know how much we NEED you!"

Jon smiled back shyly in reply to her playful verbal berating, as he slipped into his chair.

"Leave him be Kay'kara, the Captain has had a rough few days and deserves to relax some" the Sooba'Dar gently chided her elder.

Sooba'Da Kay'kara laughed off the notion "Jon has to be the most relaxed person on the planet after spending the last day and night in the gentle hands of my granddaughter."

Jon had just brought a cup of some kind of Bolian spiced tea to his mouth when Kay'kara had made her statement. Once the words registered in his mind it seemed his throat closed in on itself in some involuntary reaction. He began to cough and was glad to have a napkin in easy reach to keep from spewing the fluids all over the breakfast table.

With some concern, the Sooba'Dar reached over and gently patted him on the back while he tried to regain his breath, then shot her elder a disapproving look.

"That wasn't very nice of you Kay'kara! You knew Jon had no idea that Cel'Lya was your granddaughter before now."

Kay'kara began to chuckle as she replied "oh, poor Jon, where do you think my lovely Cel'Lya learned how to do all those amazing things she's done to you?" and then she gave Jon another seductive wink. "Perhaps" she continued "you'd prefer to be in the hands of a real expert, my grandchild is still but a novice in the arts of love. My husband died the happiest man on Bolarus, under me in my bed."

None of this conversation was helping Jon in the least to regain his lost composure.

"You really are too bad Kay'kara!" the Sooba'Dar, still patting Jon on the back, picked up something from a platter that looked like a tiny muffin and chucked it gently toward the geriatric jokester. To Jon's amazement, the older woman plucked the muffin from the air with ease before taking a bite out of it.

Once Jon finally was able to breathe again he began to profusely apologize to Kay'kara.

"Ma'am, I am so sorry! I had…I had no idea Cel'Lya was your granddaughter. Please understand that this is not how I normally carry myself when representing the United Earth Republic or Starfleet. If I had had any idea….., but that's no excuse for how disgracefully I have behaved. I hope that you, and the Sooba'Dar, can find it in you to forgive my transgressions. If you cannot, then I hope you won't allow my poor judgment to cloud your opinion of Starfleet or the United Earth Republic."

The Sooba'Dar and Kay'kara looked at him with confused expressions before cutting their eyes toward each other to see if the other had an explanation.

"Gay'lan, what's he prattling on about?" the elder lady asked.

The Sooba'Dar turned back to appraise Jon one more time before it dawned on her why he was apologizing.

"OH! Oh, poor Jonathan! No! Believe me, you have done nothing wrong!" The Sooba'Dar radiated sympathy toward him.

Realization dawned on Sooba'Da Key'kara's face then. "OH! OHHHHH!" she and the Sooba'Dar began to giggle like school girls, which only confused Jon more.

"Sit down lad!" Kay'kara waved him down into his seat. "I'm not angry you had sex with my granddaughter silly child! That's what she's here for, for the sake of Guv'al!"

Jon was still confused so the Sooba'Dar explained it to him gently.

"Jon, daughters of the Sudra'Darian Houses are expected to serve in the Palace of the Sooba'Dar when they reach sexual maturity. It's part of their training as future Sooba'Das to learn all the courtly arts, including how to please our honored guests, in every possible way. I served as an acolyte, Kay'kara served as an acolyte in her day. It's part of our traditions, it's our way."

"OH, I see!" Jon said in sudden clarity, and then a moment later he repeated himself with a bit more melancholy in his voice. "I see….."

His change in tone and facial expression made both ladies look toward one another in confusion again. Then it was Kay'kara's turn to realize first what was bothering him now.

"Silly boy!" she chided him as she threw one of the tiny muffins at him. It bounced off his chest but he caught it as it fell.

"Eat that!" Kay'kara commanded him, and Jon rather meekly obeyed.

As he munched on it she continued "we don't MAKE the girls sleep with the guests! They are encouraged to show our guests a good time, but only the ones they themselves choose. Cel'Lya wouldn't have come to you if she wasn't intrigued by you! Silly boy!" she shook her head at him in mocking exasperation.

The Sooba'Dar smiled gently at Jon and patted his hand. "Believe her, Cel'Lya is almost as willful as her grandmother, if you can believe that possible."

"Hum" Cel'Lya's grandmother replied dismissively to that notion as she nibbled on some kind of pink fruit.

"If she didn't like you she'd feel no obligation what-so-ever to spend any time with you past court functions." The Sooba'Dar finished.

Despite his better judgment, he was pleased to learn that Cel'Lya was a willing participant after all.

"You should have seen me in my prime Jonathan" Kay'kara leered at him with a lustful expression. "You would have never even seen my Cel'Lya. These girls are like distant stars. They're pretty in their own right, but when the glorious sun known as Kay'kara entered a room, all the other stars were blotted out in my radiant brilliance."

The Sooba'Dar shook her head with a smile at her boastful elder as she refilled the teacups from a decorative kettle.

"Even as short a time ago as my last term as Sooba'Darian tenure," Kay'kara continued "I still had the most beautiful, youthful, and vigorous of the young men of the court falling upon each other just for a nod of acknowledgment from me. They'd slide right past the loveliest of my acolytes without even a first look, for just the remote chance of entering my bedchamber."

The Sooba'Dar turned with a conspiratorial smirk toward Jon "No man, or woman could resist the beauty or charms of Kay'kara the Radiant."

"Indeed they could not" Kay'kara said in frank seriousness. With a sudden boney finger thrust upright in the air, she continued. "Yes Jonathan, even some women tried to make me their lover, but they would be lucky if I bothered to give them one night. Women are too flighty for a long term relationship; and in my prime, there was no way I would have tied myself to just one lover of either sex."

Jonathan hoped the food he was shoveling into his mouth was hiding how uncomfortable he was at having this particular conversation with these two older ladies.

The Sooba'Dar herself finally decided that Kay'kara had tortured Jon enough. "Alright Kay'kara! We all know you were the greatest lover in the history of Bolarus."

"Well…..I don't know if I could claim all of history, but I'm certainly the greatest lover alive on Bolarus…."

"Kay'kara, enough!" The Sooba'Dar said with mild irritation "I didn't invite you to breakfast to overwhelm our honored guest with tails of your sexual exploits."

"Hum" was Kay'kara's response. "Overwhelm him? I haven't even decided if I'll let him seduce me yet." Then she winked at Jon again and lightly slipped the tip of her tongue over her wrinkled lips.

Jon quickly stuffed another muffin in his mouth as the Sooba'Dar sighed with exhaustion at her lusty elder.

"On to the actual business at hand", the Sooba'Dar said with a gentle eye-roll at her libidinous elder. "Director McCants has informed me that sixteen Earth Commerce Authority vessels are on their way to rendezvous here at Bolarus. He says that this should be all the ECA ships in this region of space. He has also received requests from other species' commerce ships to join the convoy back toward Earth, ten more in all, so far."

Jon nodded in acknowledgment.

The Sooba'Dar continued. "He believes that the final vessels will be here by the evening of the day after tomorrow, but he seems certain that most of the ships will need some servicing before they can leave. Many of these ships are already exceeding their maximum abilities to get here by that time."

Kay'kara chimed in "we will, of course, make repair and service crews available to any vessel in need of their help. Can Enterprise spare some of her crew to assist in making sure the other vessels are prepared for their journey home?"

"Of course" Jon replied, "we'll do anything we can to assist."

Kay'kara and the Sooba'Dar looked at each other with a bit of sadness at this point. Then they returned their attention to Jon.

"Your tactical officer has, with your approval" The Sooba'Dar stated, "agreed to take a look at our warp capable defense ships."

Kay'kara added "We only have ten of them, and they haven't received a major upgrade in the last twenty years. They are capable of warp four point five, but their weapons and other defense systems are a bit...dated."

"Lieutenant Reed will undoubtedly have some suggestions on how we can maximize what you already have a board, and I'll give him permission to have his team upgrade whatever they can for you, but I have to be honest with you, I don't think they'll offer any meaningful resistance to the Romulans. They'll come in force and overwhelm your defense ships. Then who knows how they'll react to having been resisted in a forceful manner. No, I couldn't in good conscience recommend you do anything else but offer no resistance."

The Sooba'Dar smiled in sadden sympathy at Jon "have no fear on that account. We know our own limitations and will offer no resistance to the Romulans…..when they come."

Jonathan was relieved to hear this but also confused "then why bother to upgrade your defense vessels? Seems the best option would be to try to hide them away from the Romulans till your liberation from them or destroy them yourselves so they can't be used against you."

"We have a better option" Kay'kara smiled at Jon. "They'll go with you and the convoy, to help protect you so that you can make it home a little easier."

"Any of them and their crews that make it back to Earth are at your disposal, to assist in any way in the eventual defeat of the Romulans." The Sooba'Dar added.

Jonathan shook his head "we can't ask them to do that, not when their own people face subjugation."

The Sooba'Dar placed her hand gently on Jon's again. "Then consider them an armed escort for our ambassador to Earth. The crews have all volunteered to take this duty. They know the risks and they choose to take them."

Jon was again surprised by the iron determination the Sooba'Dar could project through the "velvet glove" of her warm personality.

Jon knew to try to convince her that Enterprise was enough to protect her granddaughter was pointless; and in truth, what help these ships could be against the Romulans might be enough to make the difference should it come to blows.

"Very well" Jon resolved, "we'll be honored to have their assistance."

"Good" Kay'kara added, "this afternoon we'll make arrangements for you to meet with the vessels' commanders so you can formulate your exit strategy together."

The two ladies seemed quite pleased with the outcome of their discussion so far, but Jon couldn't help but have reservations about taking the defense force ships with him. He also felt the same way about taking the ambassador and her staff back to Earth. There were two possible outcomes to the coming conflict that he had yet to discuss with the Sooba'Dar.

"Your Excellency" Jon began in a somber tone.

"Ha! Here comes the Vak!" Kay'kara cackled at him. Jon didn't know what a "Vak" was and apparently, his mobile Universal Translator didn't either; but her reaction seemed to be similar to someone from Earth saying "now the other shoe drops".

The Sooba'Dar only smiled indulgently at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Our political and military strategists have worked with their Vulcan counterparts to come up with as many of the possible outcomes to what we assume the Romulans will do next. Most of them point toward attacking Earth forces and trying to invade our relatively small territory, but there is a slim chance that the Romulans will invade your sector of space, and then….stop."

The Sooba'Dar, her hand never having left the top of his, squeezed gently and smiled. "Which means that Earth and the other Coalition members would have no legitimate reason to try to liberate us from the Romulans."

Jon nodded sadly to her in the affirmative, then continued. "There's also the possibility that we do go to war with the Romulans, fight them to a stalemate and have to leave the Bolian Sector to them in the peace negotiations. I'm not proud that that may occur but….."

"It's alright Jonathan, we know Earth will have to do what is in Earth's best interests." The Sooba'Dar's sad smile only made him feel worse.

Kay'kara held up a data chip then "we have the same data projections you do child! Your Government gave us the same data they got from the Vulcans. We can live with a less than ten percent probability that your Government will have to abandon us to get a greater than ninety percent chance that you'll need to throw the Romulans out of here to win any Earth-Romulan conflict."

The Sooba'Dar patted Jon's hand again, "we've had our experts review the Vulcans' findings, and they agree with the conclusions. Bolarus and the other worlds in this sector do not have enough strategic materials in their own right to justify the costs of our occupation by the Romulans."

"We're a stepping stone" Kay'kara added "a stepping stone to YOU!"

The Sooba'Dar continued "Last year when the Romulans sent their two probes into Coalition space, they didn't bother with us."

"We weren't important enough" intoned Kay'kara "they traveled through our space without even a rumor of them being here."

"We know the general direction their territory lies from here", said the Sooba'Dar. "To get to Coalition space they must either go through the former Delphic Expanse."

Kay'kara added next "and risk reunifying the Xindi, a race that just built a planet-killing machine, against them and with the Coalition as the reunified Xindi's potential ally!"

"Or go through territory which may or may not be claimed by the Klingon Empire." Added the Sooba'Dar.

"And risk war with the Klingons? Ha! Not likely. The Romulans surely are smart enough to avoid such stupidity!" Kay'kara was getting quite worked up. Clearly, interstellar politics was a favorite topic of her's. One of the numerous reasons the Sooba'Dar apparently decided to include her predecessor in these talks.

"So that leaves the Romulans only one interstellar passage into Coalition territory. Our sector of space." The Sooba'Dar concluded somberly.

"Bolarus Magnificent!" Kay'kara declared indignantly, "The rest-stop on the way to conquest!"

The Sooba'Dar looked disapprovingly at her easily excitable elder, but with a melancholy tint to her expression. Then she returned to the Captain.

"Jonathan, we know what we must do to survive what is coming, so that when the time is right we can be the most help to your people in helping in our own liberation." She added "and when the time IS right, we will be ready to do our most to help. We know how to make people relax, to lose their focus. We will lull the Romulans into a false sense of security here. While your people fight them from the front, we'll undermine them from the rear."

"We've been making plans for over a year now" Kay'kara added. "We have weapons, supplies, communications equipment; all hidden in the far corners of our world and throughout our solar system."

"But we will not strike till it's the most advantageous to the effort" stated the Sooba'Dar. "We will wait for your people, so that there is a joint and maximized effort, with the greatest possible result."

"And on that day", Kay'kara said with steel in her eyes "we will make the Romulans regret they ever left their homeworld."

"Indeed" solemnly added the Sooba'Dar, then she reassuringly squeezed Jonathan's hand again. "We will have to conserve our strength for when it will do everyone the most good. It is your people Jonathan, who will have to do the bleeding for the eventual victory I'm afraid. Do you know how truly rare you and your people are Jonathan?"

"I'm not sure what you mean Your Excellency", Jon replied in all honesty.

"Your Government didn't have to give us this valuable information on the coming enemy." Kay'kara said holding up the data chip again.

"The first Humans who came to our world were traders from your ECA." The Sooba'Dar added. "Most traders out there try to swindle us the first few times they come here, but not your people."

Kay'kara added, "From that first ship till this very day, we've had not one bad dealing with your people, NOT A ONE!"

"When it looks like we're about to suffer an invasion by from all reports a ruthless and merciless enemy; Earth doesn't conserve its best forces to prepare for its own defenses." The Sooba'Dar smiled at Jon with a glimmer of a tear in her eye.

"Indeed your people, quite foolishly I might add, sent their best ship, best crew, and very best combat leader to US. All in what was probably a pointless attempt to try to ward off the coming invasion. What kind of crazy people do that?" Kay'kara asked in sincerity.

"People with a special kindness in their collective traditions. A compassionate people, and a people that will change this galaxy for the better if given a chance." The Sooba'Dar said with surprising conviction.

Jon began to blush again, but this time it was very different. He had always thought that Humans were a little different than the other species he'd encountered in his travels. Not better than other sentient species by any means, just…..unique. He had objectively chalked up his assumptions to foolish pride. Now, to have the leaders of another species speak so strongly about the positive qualities of his own filled him with…intense pride.

"They're like the good versions of Klingons!" declared Kay'kara.

That statement broke Jon out of his own admiration of his people. "I'm…..sorry, what was that? We're like the good Klingons?"

Both the Sooba'Dar and Kay'kara where cackling at Jon's perplexed reaction to that off-beat declaration.

The Sooba'Dar sympathetically rubbed the top of his hand. "If you think about it Jon, it's a bit true, and not a bad compliment at all."

Kay'kara explained "they say you can't keep a Klingon on Q'uonos, you could say you can't keep a Human on Earth too! Ten years ago no one around here had ever heard of a Human, and today you're our only real hope of eventual salvation. If the Klingons had your value system, your beliefs, your basic core of what is right and what is wrong; would they not be like you are today? Would the Romulans not be like you under the same circumstances?"

"You're a dynamic people Jonathan" the Sooba'dar intoned. "You're not content to live on your beautiful world and enjoy its own wonders. The first second you could your people left your system in great numbers to form new colonies and at great personal risk too. You put considerable effort into developing newer and fast ways to travel in space. You're a curious people. You look at every planet, every star, every phenomenon and wonder what makes it go, what's it made off, how did it get here?".

"You are indeed a curious people" Kay'kara agreed with the Sooba'Dar "and we're grateful for it!"

"Indeed we are" the Sooba'Dar agreed, "every other dynamic species we've ever encountered or heard of were or are conquerors. You're the first dynamic species we know of that has not tried to conquer a world, or force their will on weaker species. You went out into the galaxy just to do it, and to look for new peoples and new things for their own sake. That's so very rare Jonathan. To have a species like your's, with your abilities and drive, to have that species be not even just benign, but benevolent as well….it's truly extraordinary."

"Not to mention" Kay'kara piped up, "your unique ability to build understanding between diverse species. Even way out here we had heard of the decades-long tensions between the Andorians and the Vulcans. In less than four years of the Andorians encountering your Enterprise, they now sit together with the Vulcans as equals in the Coalition of Planets! What kind of people are you Humans, to do such amazing feats of diplomacy?"

Jon tried to formulate an answer but the Sooba'Dar had her own thoughts on the matter. "That's why the Romulans fear you."

"Fear us?" Jonathan replied in mild surprise.

"Indeed" she continued, "your people have the unique ability to make friends with any and every species you encounter, and even more important, you seem to have great success at it. That allows other species, like the Vulcans and Andorians, to find ways, through your people, to reach common ground together, and that's why the Romulans fear you. They know that if given time, you'll be the glue that cements this entire region of space into a mutual defense alliance."

Kay'kara added, "then the Romulan's own expansionist dreams are spoiled! Klingons on one side; Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, and Bolians united on the other! They'll be trapped within their own current borders, no new races and resource to exploit to their own benefit."

"That is why Jonathan, the Romulans fear your people", the Sooba'Dar finished emphatically.

Jonathan shook his head, "I don't know what to say at this point."

"Good" Kay'kara stated as she stood to leave "When you have nothing to say the best thing to say is nothing, and if you can't tell, Gay'lan and I need no help in talking."

Then she shot Jon an exasperated looked, "Well, come on! You've had enough to eat and we all have work to do."

Jon abruptly stood at her command. As she rounded the table to collect him he noticed the Sooba'Dar reach into her pocket to turn something off. Both she and Kay'kara noticed Jon's interest.

"Silly boy!" Kay'kara chided him again "you didn't think we'd have such an important discussion outdoors with no security, did you?"

The Sooba'Dar appraised Jon again briefly with her warm yellow eyes. Then she reached in her pocket again and handed Jon the distortion device.

"A gift", she said, "from the Bolian people, may our friends from Earth find it useful in our eventual liberation."

Jon was bewildered by the gift. "We have something similar, but nowhere near as good as this one. I can't possibly take something of this value without giving you something in return."

Kay'kara looked at his chest, then she plucked the Universal Translator from his chest. "Here", she tossed it to the SoobaDar, "we don't have anything like this. Could be useful."

"Kay'kara", the Sooba'Dar chided her elder, "we aren't giving Jon a gift in expectation of one on return."

The elder lady rolled her eyes, "Oh whatever! Jon wants us to have it. Don't you?"

"Um" he began, "Of course! A mutual exchange of gifts, oh!...you'll need the earpiece." He reached up to remove it but remembered that they would be unable to communicate with one another once he had taken it off.

Kay'kara reached up and took it off for him before tossing it to the Sooba'Dar as well.

Suddenly Jon was plunged into a world he could not understand as the Sooba'Dar chided her elder in their shared language. Then the Sooba'Dar grabbed his hand and placed it near her cheek.

"Shla'tch" she said to him with a smile.

"Thank You" he replied to her.

"Well, Let's go!" Kay'kara said to him.

He was suddenly taken aback to hear her speaking in perfect English.

In reply to his shock, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "It's not like your language is all that hard to learn. Come on!"

With a tug of his sleeve and a departing nod to the Sooba'Dar; he and Kay'kara made their way back into the palace proper.

Once they were in the hallway, away from any attendants, Kay'kara reached gently into Jon's pocket and reactivated the distortion device.

"That's truly a remarkable device" Jon noted. "There's no visible electromagnetic distortion at all. Our similar devices have a visible distortion wave on activation, and there's no way we could walk around without the distortion wave being visible."

"It is quite remarkable, and useful" Kay'kara replied, "but we can't claim it as our own. Some traders brought it here five or six years ago. We've been making and using them ever since. We plan to make good use of that universal translator you generously gave us too. Make sure you get good use out of that."

With her arm now looped in the crook of his, she pulled him tighter to her so she could lower her voice.

"Tonight, my lovely Cel'Lya will visit you again."

Jon suddenly returned to his previous uncomfortable state.

"She will bring you another gift from the Bolian people. You will wear it around your neck when you leave us, but you will show it to no one till you are safely back aboard your ship. It's a very special gift, and I assure you that there is no other like it on our world. Until this moment I was the only other person to know of its existence. To activate it you must hold it between your index finger and thumb while pressing firmly for seven seconds."

Jon blinked in some surprise at Kay'kara secret gift. He asked, "can I know what it is?"

"No, not here. Once you're back on Enterprise and activate it, you'll know what it is and how to use it. Keep it safe and as secret as possible! I think you will find doing so to be of the greatest benefit."

"Can I ask where you got it from?"

She sighed a bit but relented "I suppose there's no harm in that. Last year, after the thermobaric cloud around the Delphic Expanse, began to dissipate, a Xindi Arboreal in a beat up vessel arrived in our system. He was looking to trade some Trillium-D ore for whatever food we'd give him. Having never met any Xindi before, we agreed to repair his ship, and fill it full with food, since his people back home were suffering food shortages due to the fighting between the different Xindi species. He told us about his people, the Sphere-builders, the planet killing machine, and of course about Enterprise and the famous Jonathan Archer."

Jon cringed a bit, but Kay'kara continued.

"When his ship was repaired and full, he was grateful; and though we took his Trillium-D, more so to make more room on his ship for more food than any need of it we had, he insisted it wasn't payment enough for all the food we gave him. Gay'lan had put me in charge of working with him, and so as he went to leave he handed me a data chip. He told me that on the disk was something he had found useful, and he hoped we'd find it equally useful. Then he left us."

"And now you're giving it to us?" Jon asked in surprise.

"Of course" she replied, "once I looked at what was on the data chip, I knew it was something very valuable and kept it hidden. Not even Gay'lan knows about it; and Cel'Lya only knows she is to leave it for you, so don't think she'll be able to tell you anything, and don't you dare activate it till you're back on Enterprise, do you hear me, young man?"

"Yes ma'am", he replied in all seriousness.

"Good boy", she told him as she grabbed herself a handful of his left butt cheek.

As she walked away from him she said: "make sure Cel'Lya has a good time tonight, won't you?"

* * *

Hoshi and Malcolm had just finished breakfast on his room's private balcony when the Captain called Hoshi to assist him with organizing the engineering team orders so that everyone would still get some shore leave in, but that there would still be enough people to help with any repairs to the cargo ships rendezvousing here at Bolarus.

The Captain also took the chance to inform Malcolm, since he already apparently knew they were in the same room having breakfast together, that he'd need him for a meeting with members of the Bolian Defense Forces that afternoon. Since Malcolm had already planned to tour the Bolian's warp capable defense vessels later in the morning, he suspected the topic of the meeting would be somewhat related.

Hoshi hadn't been gone much more than a minute when he heard something slide against the polished stone floor under the door to his room. He moved quickly to retrieve the apparent envelope, but when he immediately opened the door to see who had deposited it, there was no one to be seen.

Instinctively his mind went into defensive security mode. Anything could be in the envelope, including poison. He took the letter out onto the balcony and laid it gently in the center of the table. He then went back inside and retrieved his tricorder from its place in his pants pocket. Once back on the balcony he performed a full scan on the envelope. Once satisfied that there was nothing but paper inside, he sat the tricorder and himself down.

 _"Perhaps your just paranoid?"_ he told himself, _"it could just be a formal invite from the Sooba'Dar for dinner tonight."_

He was Enterprise's Security Chief though, and being paranoid about such things was part of his job. He slid his thumb under the flap and pulled out the folded note.

He turned it over in his hands, feeling for anything unusual like raised areas on it, and differences in texture; but he felt nothing of the kind. The tricorder had already told him only the single sheet of paper was inside so he felt no need to feel for additional contents.

The first thing he noticed was the flowing cursive English script. Whoever sent him this note had better handwriting than Malcolm himself, maybe even better than Hoshi, who took great pride in her multi-lingual calligraphy skills. Then he read the beautifully formed letters. He instantly began to tense up as he read.

 _Let's talk, one colleague to another, at the Bal'Kah'Lar Market on the street in front of the Palace, before your trip south this morning. Dress informally, lots of other aliens there so we'll have a nice, private conversation and reminisce about old times._

There was no signature to identify the author. No unusual raised places on the note either, but Malcolm immediately grabbed the tiny candle that was on the breakfast table, lit it, and burned the letter and the envelope completely. Then he let the breeze scatter the remains.

He had only the one civilian outfit that he'd had brought down, just in case he and Hoshi found some free time.

 _"Looks like that's not going to happen now",_ he thought sadly. He was scheduled to go back to the ship tonight and Hoshi most likely would stay to help the Captain with diplomacy and communication issues until it was time for the convoy to leave.

Once dressed, he headed down the hallway, and the massive stairs, then he walked out the front doors of the palace past the huge guards in the sashes and loincloths. He noted that in addition to the large scimitar type swords they had wielded at the welcome ceremony the day before, they had some type of energy weapon strapped to their legs. He exchanged a brief nod with the guards in acknowledgment, one security man to another.

The city proper stretched out down the road that led toward the market. Within minutes he was moving back and forth within the market. The letter writer had been correct, there were mostly Bolians, but other Humans from the arriving cargo ships, and several other species that Malcolm did and did not recognize as well. They all moved among the shops and food establishments, talking and laughing together. You'd hardly suspect they knew anything about the Romulan threat at all, but the Bolians were a naturally happy and boisterous people, which made the introvert in Malcolm both jealous and uncomfortable at the same time.

He resolved to not let this sidetrack into unpleasant business ruin his day and began to look for a present for Hoshi among the numerous items for sale. He found a crystalline vase with what he could only assume was something poetic written in the Bolian language on its side. Hoshi loved flowers, and language, so clearly to Malcolm, it was the perfect gift. He removed some of the Bolian currency from his pocket, and the shop attendant wrapped the delicate object carefully before putting it safely in a box for him.

Having gotten Hoshi something nice, and now properly camouflaged as a shopper, Malcolm set out to find his mystery colleague.

It didn't take long to identify the slightly familiar face at a café table sipping on a warm beverage and eating some type of Bolian dish. Malcolm was not surprised in the least at who was waiting for him. He had noticed the other person first at the welcome ceremony the day before. Something in the way he walked and moved told Malcolm that he had formal training. You could always tell a specialist from ordinary people by the body language if you knew what to look for in the first place. It was a deliberate type of movement. Nothing moved without reason on an operative's body. A slight turn of the body to better position oneself for a possible attack or a slight head turn so the ear could better concentrate on the conversation behind you instead of the one you were actually in. All were tools of the "business" that these two colleagues had once shared.

Malcolm walked up to the table. That's when Director, no, Ambassador McCants pretended to first notice him.

"Lieutenant Reed! How nice to see you again!"

He stood and shook Malcolm's hand vigorously. The slightly unusual grip was the tell, they both used it as an identifier for the other.

"Please" McCants indicated with his hand the seat across from his "join me."

"Of course" Malcolm took a chair.

The new Ambassador laid his left hand on the table in a loose fist, knuckles down except for the pinky finger, whose tip was outstretched on the table. His thumb was tucked behind the other fingers, its tip just barely poking through between his ring and middle fingers.

It was another subtle message between colleagues of a certain secret organization. In this case an indicator of rank. McCants was letting Malcolm know he was higher up the Section's food chain than the Lieutenant.

Malcolm let his own left hand do the acknowledging of that signal for him, its palm on the table and all the fingertips touching, except for the ring finger, which was knuckled under the palm.

Malcolm began "I would think someone of your importance would be too busy at the moment organizing an emergency convoy and preparing to close down an office, to enjoy a light brunch in public."

"Well" McCants replied with a shrug "if something's important enough you make the time for it. Like your little present there, it's a nice touch, and I'm sure the lovely Miss Sato will appreciate it."

Malcolm could feel his jaw begin to tense, he fought the urge and tried to relax it. The last thing he wanted was for the Section to even be aware of Hoshi Sato's existence, much less their budding romantic relationship.

McCants sighed sadly when he saw Malcolm's expression darken.

"Relax", he told Malcolm, "it's just my personal observation. Harris doesn't know yet, and I see no reason for me to be the one to tell him."

Malcolm quirked up a suspicious eyebrow at him "that's generous of you, for no apparent reason. One, why should I believe you; and two, what does your generosity cost me?"

McCants shook his head again sadly, "they must have really jerked your chain around if you're this untrusting of everything and everyone."

"Not everyone" Malcolm replied, "but I've learned to take the words of my…..'colleagues' with considerable skepticism."

At that moment the waiter appeared to ask if Malcolm would care for something. Before he could reply, McCants ordered him a drink.

"You'll love it" he assured the Lieutenant. "It's a hot, spiced juice the Bolians drink early in the day. It tastes kind of like apple, and kind of like mango, and kind of like lime, but really tastes like none of them at all. Plus, it's nothing like pineapple so you should be ok."

If McCants knew about his allergy to pineapple, then he had access to Malcolm's medical records, Section file, or both. Either way, it was a sign that this was a trusted man of some authority in the organization.

The waiter returned quickly with the drink. Malcolm sniffed at it before tasting it.

"It's actually not bad,…different, but quite good."

McCants nodded, then sipped his own before continuing.

"To answer your previous questions, one, I don't care if you believe me. It's not necessary for the transaction we are doing, and two, the cost is relatively cheap, and won't require you to completely abandon your principles."

"Hum" Malcolm replied in skepticism.

McCants continued "I understand Harris has allowed you to go into semi-retirement, that's between you and him, but what I need you to do is simple, and could have a profound effect on the future of this world, sector, and the future of Humanity in general."

Malcolm rolled his eyes "spare me the company line. I've heard it all before. Just tell me what you want me to do so I can do it and be done with it."

"Hum" it was McCants turn to sound skeptical, "I thought this would be a lot harder. Harris told me you had become resentful of the work."

"The 'work'?" Malcolm replied indignantly, "the bloody 'work'? It's the constant lies, the constant betrayals, the constant back-stabbing. That's what I resent. Having to constantly lie to people I care about and respect to do the bloody 'work'."

"Alright" McCants replied, "I get it. You think you're the first or only one who has done this type of 'work' that feels the way you do about it?"

Malcolm stared off indignantly, anger seething below his seemingly calm demeanor.

"Look", McCants said, "Harris helped you and your Captain with that Terra Prime incident, didn't he?"

"Reluctantly" Malcolm added.

"Well, perhaps he felt he owed you one?"

"Ha! Sure." Malcolm was becoming tired of this back and forth.

McCants continued "then don't do this for the Section, don't do it for Harris, don't do it for the future of Earth, or Bolarus or anyone or thing; but for yourself."

"What the bloody Hell are you going on about?" Malcolm said as he turned back inward to spear McCants with a vicious glare.

"If you do this you'll be doing me a great personal favor" McCants stated calmly, "and then I will personally owe you a favor."

Malcolm smirked back at him "ha! Bloody likely."

McCants steeled himself. Malcolm could feel the shift in the mood as if the temperature around them dropped ten degrees in a moment of seconds.

McCants replied in a steady voice the brooked no questioning, "you already know I have greater resources within the organization than you do. I'm a man that takes my job seriously, and I help those that help me. I'm the kind of man you want on your side Malcolm, especially in an organization like ours. Do this simple task, and I will be in your debt."

Malcolm sighed heavily as he conceded. To push the issue further would only make things worse from this point. Malcolm prided himself on his ability to sum up a tactical situation quickly and decide on the correct course of action with certain conviction. He was certain now that he would need to do whatever McCants wanted him to do.

"Very well", he said reluctantly.

"Excellent" McCants said as his demeanor returned to its previous pleasantry.

Then he asked Malcolm "do you still use pen and paper to write?"

Malcolm was briefly taken aback by the sudden conversation shift.

"Um…." he began to reply, "I keep a pen or two and some notebook paper on Enterprise, but I only use them to take notes from time to time."

McCants shook his head "technology is spoiling us. I love writing! You may have noticed my attention to it in my letter earlier."

Malcolm nodded, "I have to say, it was the nicest handwriting I'd seen in quite some time."

"Thank you", McCants said sincerely. "It's really, really becoming a lost art. Anyway, it wouldn't be odd for you to have a pen, would it?"

Malcolm shook his head "no, not odd."

It was then that Malcolm noticed an ornate pen lying on the table.

"A gift", McCants said "so you can practice your calligraphy. The ink is very special."

When he said the last bit his left hand returned to the previous position, indicating that the ink was indeed very special. Once Malcolm was back on Enterprise he'd have to take the ink vile to one of the chemical labs on board to find the hidden instructions within its chemical compounds.

He placed his left hand in its previous position to acknowledge he understood.

"Well", McCants said as he stood "like you said earlier, I have important things to be doing."

Malcolm stood to leave as well, but McCants held up a hand to stop him.

"Stay", McCants told him "enjoy your drink. It's such a nice morning. You have a little over an hour before you have to meet the Defense Minister for your tour of their vessels."

Malcolm slowly lowered himself back into the seat, then he noticed McCant's hand in his pocket was fiddling with something.

After noticing Malcolm's attention, McCants explained.

"A visual and electromagnetic distortion device, much better than anything we currently have. I understand your Captain was given one at breakfast. If he gives you the chance, check it out. Very useful."

Before turning away to go he added, "and Malcolm, if you don't want our colleagues to know about Miss Sato, I suggest you put some distance between you and her in public, and don't look at each other so much while obviously trying to avoid physical contact. It's a dead give-away."

Then he turned and walked away into the bustling crowd of shoppers.

Malcolm picked up his drink and sipped a bit more on the exotic concoction, while staring off into the direction of the gardens and Sooba'Darian Palace in the distance.

He gently shook his head back and forth with only one word stuck in his head now.

 _"…..damn."_


	10. Chapter 10

_"_ _Damn him!"_ Hoshi thought as she looked down on the PADD in her hand _"he's supposed to be Acting First Officer! Why do I get stuck with all the paperwork while he gets to play on warships like a schoolboy? Hell! He's probably enjoying himself too, damn him!"_

She resolved then and there that the next chance she got, she'd repay Malcolm Reed for sticking her with the paperwork on this mission. Then she realized they'd both probably enjoy how she planned to "punish" him, and it made her crook a sideways smile on her face.

Then she looked at all the paperwork still to be done on her PADD and frowned as she let it drop lazily from her hand to the table.

She released a long and frustrating sigh as she rubbed at her temples.

Truth be told, she was more disappointed that Malcolm would be going back to Enterprise without her, and that her last night in the sumptuous Palace she'd be sleeping alone.

She then felt a little selfish. She was spending her time on Bolarus in their grandest Palace, while the rest of the crew was spending eight-hour clips exploring one city or place before going back to Enterprise to work, or heading to one of the arriving cargo ships, to work.

 _"_ _And here I am moaning over some paperwork."_

Now she felt silly as well as selfish.

She looked up at the holographic ceiling. It was back on the Japan images now. She had tried several more visages and they were all lovely, but this one especially made her feel like she was home, and it was even more realistic now that the cherry blossoms smelled nearly correct.

Vicki and Travis had gone back to the ship at mid-morning; and on her instructions, Vicki retrieved the cherry blossoms from Hoshi's quarters in time for Travis to bring them back down on the next shuttle run.

It had only been an hour since she gave them to the acolyte, whom she now knew was named Tre'Lan.

 _"_ _One of Phlox's girls,"_ Hoshi thought with a smirk.

Less than ten minutes later Tre'Lan had returned to reset the holographic projector. Then everything went from being great to being perfect.

 _"_ _The Devil's in the details"_ crossed her mind.

When she looked back down at the PADD, all she saw were a lot of tedious "detail devil's" that needed sorting.

When Tre'Lan returned to reset her holoprojector she also brought some type of native hot spiced juice with her. It was good stuff, Hoshi planned to ask if they had it in a form she could take back to Enterprise with her. Perhaps the ambassadorial staff would also have some as part of their supplies. She even thought Malcolm might like it if she could convince him to try it.

She looked off at the distant holographic waves as they gently crashed against the land outcropping with the tori gate on it. The image reminded her that she wanted to convince Malcolm to try one other thing as well. They had only been, well, sleeping together was what they had been doing so far, for the last week.

She had had feelings for Malcolm for the better part of two years now. Exactly what feelings Malcolm had for her, other than lust, and how long he's had them were still a mystery she didn't want to explore till they were something more official than "bed buddies".

The trip back to Earth would take at least two and a half months at warp four point five, and that's if Enterprise didn't get sidetracked along the way. Once home, Enterprise would go in for her five-year overhaul; and if the current rumors were true, she'd get a brand new warp six engine as well. Depending on how fast Starfleet wanted Enterprise back in service, the crew was looking at a few months or even half a year of semi-furlough.

The crew, of course, would have some official duties to perform during that time. She herself was supposed to take several additional courses in ship's operations and maybe even an advanced survival course or two. She also was supposed to lecture four times at Starfleet Officer Candidate School on Exo-linguistics and interstellar communications systems. She knew everyone else had their assigned planet-side duties as well, but most of their time would belong to themselves.

You're always on the job on a starship. Having a "nine-to-five" schedule was now her definition of vacation.

She was determined to ask Malcolm to spend some time with her in Japan.

He'd never been to her native country before, and she wanted to spend time together where he wouldn't be worried about them being placed on report for fraternization.

 _"_ _And if two months on the way home isn't enough time to figure out if he's really interested in more than sex, well I may have to reevaluate his long term potential."_

Still, that she was ready to introduce him to her family, an obvious part of a trip back home, was even surprising to her.

 _"_ _When did I become THAT enamored of 'Mister' Reed?"_

She just couldn't put her finger on that specific moment or event. It had just…..happened.

She knew he wasn't as close to his own family though, so she had no expectation of a reciprocal trip to Thailand or Oxford to officially meet his parents or sister.

 _"_ _He might not even let them know he was home."_

She shook her head in disbelief at how detached Malcolm was from his own family, and decided it would only make her sad for him to continue on that particular train of thought.

With a heavy sigh, she reluctantly picked up the PADD again and shuffled through the orders one more time to make sure no one would angrily call her on the communicator to tell her how insane the orders she had just transmitted were.

With a level of confidence, that was only marginally more than she had a few minutes before, she crossed her fingers and transmitted the latest bundle of orders to the duty officers and their superiors they were assigned too.

Then she started looking at the next set of just slightly lower priority orders that she had to proofread and verify before sending them on to their designated recipients.

Then her communicator, which was sitting off to the side on the table, chirped at her.

 _"_ _Damn,"_ she thought frustratingly _"that didn't take long."_

She let it chirp at her three more times before she reluctantly flipped it open with a sneer on her face.

"Sato here."

["Damn it Hoshi, does the Captain realize half my people are on these damn cargo ships doing repairs while the other half is down on the planet goofing off?"]

The lovely voice of the slightly irate Lieutenant Anna Hess was unmistakable.

["Now he wants me to send MORE of my people to help the Bolians upgrade their warships' weapons and defense systems too? Does he think I can shit new engineers out my ass after every meal?"]

Hoshi couldn't help but admire the Assistant Chief Engineer's…..unique mastery of the English language. She forcefully suppressed the urge to burst out in laughter.

Trip had always said Anna had a mouth on her that could make a longshoreman blush, a uniquely American idiom. Once Hoshi learned what that unique North American idiom meant, she soon discovered it was a truthful evaluation of the Lieutenant's vitriolic verbal skills. Trip would often say that if he really wanted to get the engineering staff in gear, he'd have Anna give them the order instead of himself. She could see why that was an effective motivating strategy now.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant" Hoshi replied, "there's a lot to do and a short time to do it in. The Captain is trying to…."

["He's trying to see if he can get me to airlock myself, is what he's trying to do!"] Anna interrupted. ["I'm elbows deep in some coolant leak here on the California Republic! Rostov's got a blown plasma relay to replace on one of the Tellarite ships! God only knows what the Hell we're going to do about that Coridani freighter with the intermittent warp core containment field fluctuations, and now the Captain wants me to send crews I don't have down to the planet to do systems upgrades on tech we've never even laid eyes on before? Oh, did I mention the Chief Engineer is still…..uh, hum…'sick'? The Captain better hope the damn Romulans don't show up now because I have two crewmen from the Science Department in Main Engineering making sure the engine doesn't unbolt itself from its mounting. Fat lot of good they'd do if the damn Rommies actually showed up."]

The Captain had mentioned earlier that day that he thought Engineering would be spread a little thin. Anna clearly thought so too, and with good reason. Hoshi had seen the communications between Enterprise and the arriving cargo ships. It seemed that each one needed help of some kind to get ready for the convoy departure. It also seemed that a few hours after a repair crew left a vessel, that ship would call them back to fix another problem that had suddenly developed out of seemingly nowhere. All the while, more ships were entering the system and asking for more help to get repaired and ready. Hoshi knew the Bolians also had repair crews moving through the ships, but that didn't mean Enterprise's relatively small crew of engineers weren't being stretched to their limits.

["Damn it Hoshi, what does he expect me to do? We have to get this convoy ready to move in a little more than twenty-four hours, a new ship seems to arrive every half hour, and they each have worse problems than the ones before them; and now somehow I'm supposed to analyze and upgrade the Bolian's defense ships, all ten of them? There's nothing I can do to those ships that would do anything but let their crews live five seconds longer if they were stupid enough to actually fight the Rommies. It's a waste of time and resources, and it will only get the Rommies pissed at the Bolian civilians."]

Hoshi knew that the Bolian defense ships would be accompanying the convoy, but that info was something the Captain and the Sooba'Dar didn't want everyone to know till it was time to leave.

She realized knowing that info might mollify the angry Lieutenant somewhat but it wouldn't help her work go any faster or smoother.

"Anna, I only have three people in my department other than me, but you can have Reyes and Walters right now. Whoever is manning the Bridge Science station can monitor the Comms till I get back."

Anna laughed at the suggestion ["who do you think I have in Engineering Hoshi? They're routing the Comms through one of the secondary engineering monitoring stations."]

The very idea of Julia Reyes and Kat Walters being in Main Engineering seemed strange indeed. She wasn't sure of either having ever set foot on the Engineering deck before, probably not.

"Okay, any 'blue shoulders' sitting around or coming back from leave, take them immediately; they're all yours. I'll have the Captain sign off on it."

Hess replied ["Lunasha might not like that; but Hell, she'll live. That isn't nearly enough to cover my needs though Hoshi. Weapons and defense systems are Malcolm's territory. It should be his people down on the planet doing most of the work with those Bolian ships."]

Hoshi knew she wasn't wrong on that count. They'd probably need a few of Trip's systems people to make sure everything matched up with those ships' power systems properly, but it was Malcolm's people that were the weapons experts.

Malcolm had insisted, because of the Romulan threat, that only three security personnel at a time be allowed to come planet-side on leave. The result was that most of the security personnel hadn't made it down for leave yet.

 _"_ _Oh well,"_ she thought to herself _"at least most of them will get to come down to the planet now, and if they finish up early they'll have a few minutes to enjoy the fresh air."_

"I'll get the Captain to authorize the workload redistribution," she told Anna "but I'd recommend you go ahead and start issuing the orders. This stuff is time critical."

["Alright Hoshi, but if someone gets pissed cause I'm pulling their people I can send them right to you, right?"] She added an almost sinister laugh at the end.

After a sigh, Hoshi replied, "…..guess I'll take the heat till….."

Anna suddenly screamed ["AHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? SHIT!, DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU JUST…."]

The line went dead after the clicking sound of Anna flicking her communicator closed. Hoshi was never gladder than at that moment that she had zero interest in Engineering Sciences, too messy."

She quickly wrote up new orders to redistribute more of Enterprise's personnel to the immediate control of the Acting Chief Engineer. Then she flicked her communicator open again.

"Ensign Sato to Captain Archer."

A few seconds later the familiar deep voice replied ["Archer here, what's up Hoshi?"]

"Do you have your PADD handy sir?" she asked.

["Got it."]

"I'm sending you new orders I recommend you sign off on, Sir." She had already hit the transmit button. The Captain liked to make slight murmurs as he read things, after five years Hoshi was used to it.

He then asked ["You think this is necessary?"]

She replied "Lieutenant Hess does, Sir. She doesn't think that with the current personnel available to her she'll be able to fix the cargo vessels and upgrade the Bolian weapons systems in time."

She heard the Captain sigh, then he replied ["Alright, Archer out"] and the comm line went dead with the familiar clicking sound.

A moment later, the Captain's signed orders were back on her PADD, which she immediately transmitted to the officer-on-duty back on the Bridge, and to all of Enterprise's department heads.

She then smirked a bit at the naughty thought that crossed her mind.

 _"_ _Malcolm is going to be….'bloody'…pissed."_

* * *

Malcolm was bloody pissed!

"But Sir, pulling all my people from the ship has left Enterprise virtually defenseless."

They both were walking at a brisk pace behind a uniformed escort. Bolian Defense Command was surprisingly small, which seemed to reflect the relative size of the forces that were commanded from the compound of buildings. It seemed quite an old set of buildings but they were not neglected by any means, and Jon suspected that there was more to this place under the surface of the ground.

They were being led by a young Bolian officer to their meeting with the commanders of the Bolian Defense vessels, and the Defense Minister.

"You know as well as I do that your people are the best qualified to do the weapons upgrades to their vessels, Malcolm."

Malcolm replied "Of course Sir, but there are only three qualified security officers left on the ship. If we were to come under attack now or boarded even, three people would not be enough to defend Enterprise."

"Do you think the only people qualified to defend Enterprise are the ones with red across their shoulders, Lieutenant?"

Jon knew it was a baiting question to ask his fastidious security chief. He knew very well Malcolm Reed DID think the only people who could properly defend the ship were people he had trained and who reported to him directly. Jon also knew that for Malcolm to say so to his Captain would be both improper and likely earn him a great deal of disdain from the rest of the crew, whom Malcolm had also insisted be trained by him in security measures.

To his credit, the irritated Lieutenant did not take the bait. Instead, he deflected it.

"Sir, the other departments have been equally gutted by Lieutenant Hess. She has slightly over half the crew spread out across the cargo ships in orbit. Of the remaining half, most of the security crew are working on the Bolian vessels, and the other half are on…..'leave'."

The way the Lieutenant said the word "leave" he could have been referring to the Orion Syndicate's well-known and greatly detested slave trade operations instead.

Jon couldn't help but smirk at his security chief's angst, he tried to turn his head slightly so Reed wouldn't see his amused expression. Apparently, the Lieutenant knew his commanding officer too well. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Malcolm's face twist up in frustration at his Captain thinking any part of this conversation was enjoyable.

"Look Lieutenant" Jon stated, "you know why we have to get these ship, all of them, in top shape and ready to go. As soon as we're done here you can go back to supervise the upgrades you recommended. That way your people are done as quickly as possible. Then you can take them back to Enterprise and make sure we're ready for anything. Time is of the essence, a little time now to get everyone and everything on the same page, and we'll be ready to get the hell out of this sector, safely and securely."

He hoped Malcolm could tell by now when he was using his "I'm done arguing" tone of voice. Trip Tucker had known him for nearly a decade longer than Malcolm, and if Trip felt he was right he would have kept right on till Jon had to raise his voice at him. T'pol, if she felt her position on a topic was the only correct one, would have also continued to argue; but in a much more effective way than Trip, right to the point where he also either had to raise his voice at her or more than likely, she convinced him of her correctness.

But Malcolm Reed was all officer and Enterprise's top advocate for the chain of command to boot. When the Captain ended a debate, Malcolm stopped debating.

He replied, "Understood, Sir."

Jon clapped him on the shoulder then and continued.

"I know Enterprise is vulnerable right at the moment, but we've got to get these other ships in order. Our mission is to get them out of the Bolian Sector as safe and as fast as possible. If we have to leave any of them here for mechanical issues, we've failed at our mission."

Malcolm gave a brief nod and replied "I understand Sir, mission first. You can rely on my people to have the Bolian vessels as ready as possible."

He clapped the Lieutenant on the shoulder again "I know that already Malcolm."

They had apparently arrived at their destination. The Bolian officer who was leading them opened the door after performing a hand scan on the sensor pad beside the entrance. They entered the lobby area of the building and saw four people waiting for them.

The Bolian Defense Minister, General Kray'Dom Drunon, was hard to miss. Despite some obvious age on him, he was an impressive figure. Close to two meters tall, and nearly twice Jon's own weight in muscle, Jon had not been surprised to discover one of the General's previous jobs in the Defense Force when he was younger had been as one of the Sooba'Darian Guards. He was clearly cut from the same cloth as the imposing scimitar wielding guardians.

Mott Tor'Kon was an unexpected guest to today's events. The surprisingly taciturn Chancellor of the Bedchamber, which was an office that apparently was as close as the Sooba'Dar came to having an actual Prime Minister, was talking to someone without blue skin.

As his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting the Captain recognized freshly minted Earth Ambassador McCants, yet another unexpected guest.

Jon had become used to Malcolm's unspoken body language over the years. He could feel his security chief tense at the site of the Ambassador and the Chancellor talking. Jon glanced to the Lieutenant, who was beside him to his left. Normally when Malcolm Reed tensed like that, Jon expected to need a phase pistol within moments.

In a low voice, he asked, "What is it?"

Malcolm instantly snapped out of his "defensive stance". "Sorry Sir, I was taken off guard by so many being here. My mistake."

Malcolm didn't make those kinds of mistakes, but if he said things were okay, Jon knew they were. He made a mental note to ask the Lieutenant later what had really set him off.

As they approached the group, the third surprise guest called out to them.

"Captain! Lieutenant! Welcome! Welcome!"

Kad'mahar Genlo had the type of voice and personality that screamed: "look at me".

"Mister Kad'mahar" the Captain began. Then he saw the boisterous, chubby Bolian shake his head disappointingly at him and he quickly corrected himself "…..Genlo."

"Much better!" the Bolian intoned, then he reached out with both hands to grab the Captain's own offered hand and shake it vigorously before doing the same to Malcolm.

 _"I'm supposed to spend two and a half months with this guy on Enterprise?"_ Jon asked himself despairingly. _"Perhaps Phlox can find a reason to put him on a sedative?"_

The others in the lobby exchanged briefer and less intense greetings with them before the Defense Minister led them into another room guarded by thick security doors and a hand scanner. Once inside it was obvious the room was for presentations. There was a tiered seating area against each wall. In the center of the room was an oval table with a rectangular clear center section. Jon theorized the rectangular area was a holographic three-dimensional projector.

Around the opposite side of the table, ten Bolian officers had been talking in low voices. There were three females and seven males. When they saw the Defense Mister enter the room they quickly fell into a perfect line of attention. Then each in unison brought their clenched right fist to the left side of their chest in salute. The Defense Minister returned the gesture once he had taken his place at the center of the near side of the table.

Jon was briefly taken off guard to see Genlo do the same salute. At first, he thought Genlo was simply being a buffoon, but the officers did not lower their fists till both General Kray'Dom and Genlo lowered their fists as well.

Malcolm leaned into his Captain's ear and whispered: "Genlo is more than he seems."

Jon slightly nodded in response. The word _"interesting"_ crossed his mind.

The General began "The Captain, Lieutenant and my own presence here is self-explanatory, as is the ship commanders. The Chancellor is here to represent Her Excellency directly. Ambassador McCants is here to represent the interests of the Earth Commerce Authority ships in his dual capacity as regional Earth Commerce Authority Director; and by necessity, the other alien cargo ships as well. Finally, Kad'mahar Genlo is here to represent Ambassador Tallshe and our Earth Embassy staff. Are there any questions before we start the meeting?"

When no one responded, he continued by touching an embedded touch-screen on the table, which brought the three-dimensional projector to life. A projection of Bolarus appeared before them. Ten arrowhead shaped blue icons appeared to rest on the western side of Bolarus's southwestern continent. Jon knew these were the defense force ships, at their surface base. In orbit over the eastern half of the northern continent was a saucer-shaped image with two projections extending from the back of it. The recognizable and distinctive shape of his Enterprise was also in blue.

All around the holographic representation of Enterprise were orange colored cylinders. Some were clear, but most appeared as fully orange, he believed this represented the cargo ships' individual states of readiness. Jon counted nineteen orange cylinders in orbit. That corresponded to his last update on the number of ships that had arrived. That meant that thirteen other vessels had yet to enter orbit.

The General continued "this is the tactical representation of the current situation. Our defense ships are on the surface receiving updates from Enterprise's weapons experts."

All ten sets of eyes on the other side of the table briefly fell on Malcolm. Each nodded briefly to the Lieutenant before returning to the General's words. Malcolm had returned to the capital city with the ten-ship commanders after meeting them and their crews at the base to the south that morning. To Jon, it looked like there was a level of mutual respect already developing between them.

"Enterprise is currently our world's only defense" stated the General in a rather unhappy tone. "In orbit with Enterprise are nineteen cargo vessels of the convoy. Eight of these vessels have not yet been made ready for the voyage. Bolian and Human engineering teams continue to work on them. Thirteen other vessels are still on their way here to join the convoy. They are in various stages of repair. The convoy is scheduled to depart our system at midnight local time, tomorrow."

"Does this correspond to what we all know at this time?" he asked the table.

"Yes," proclamations and head nods answered in the affirmative.

With a movement of his hand, the General pulled the holographic image back to show the entire Bolian star system. Six more orange cylinders were shown with their slightly curving paths toward Bolarus IX marked out in orange dashed lines. Only two of the six vessels were near fully orange in color, indicating that the engineering teams had at least four more ship visits to look forward to in the immediate future.

The General continued "these six vessels are already in the system, and should all arrive in orbit within the next seven hours."

"General" the Captain broke in "the ships in the system appear to have dropped from warp speed before breaching your system's Oort Cloud barrier." Jon briefly hoped "Oort Cloud" was one of the words Hoshi had programmed his Universal Translator to correctly translate into its Bolian equivalent. When none of the Bolians acted as if the translation was odd, he continued. "I know you have some larger gas giants in your outer system as well. What is the minimum wrap threshold for your system? Can these cargo ships warp farther into the system before dropping to sublight propulsion?"

The General nodded his understanding and then indicated to one of the ship commanders on the opposite side of the table.

"This is Commander Kann'Law, the leader of our defense vessel squadron" the General then turned his attention to the commander.

"Captain Archer, Sir" the Commander began "based on the mass of the largest of the cargo vessels yet to enter our system, we feel confident that at warp one point five they can proceed into the system as far as the orbit of Kal'Caid." He then indicated with his finger a rock planet, presumably Bolarus XI, that was two positions farther out from the Bolian sun than Bolarus's own orbit.

"General," Jon said "based on this information I would recommend that all ships further out than that planet's orbit be allowed to reach that orbit at warp one point five. It will get them in orbit quicker and allow our engineering teams more time to fix their problems."

"Agreed, they will be informed," said the General, then he made a brief note on his data storage device.

When he had finished entering his data, he again touched the screen on the table, and the view spread out further to encompass most of the Bolian sector of space. It was hard to miss the blue and orange cloud off to the corner that was the Bassen Rift Nebula. The Bolian System was in the middle, indicated in blue, of course. Most of the other systems were in grey, Jon assumed that to indicate they were uninhabited, unimportant, or both. A few systems were in orange and had words in Bolian which Jon assumed to be the system names. These were, without doubt, the "local" inhabited worlds that did trading with Bolarus and the ECA.

Seven orange cylinders, moving along dashed orange lines from these planets toward Bolarus indicated the remaining cargo vessels. Those coming from the same worlds had smartly left together. Only three ships were traveling by themselves. One coming from the far side of the system would reach Bolarus in fourteen hours. The other two lone vessels were approaching from the opposite side of Bolarus from the assumed direction of Romulan territory. Both were still over thirty hours away, well past the planned convoy departure time.

Jon pointed to those two ships, "they won't make it in time to join the convoy at our current departure time, plus we have no idea of their maintenance needs."

He thought briefly and then came to a decision. "We need to extend the departure time by twelve hours. It's the only way to get these ships here and with some maintenance time left over for them."

All fifteen of the other people in the room began to look to each other with concern. The idea of pushing back the departure time was apparently not going over well.

"Captain" Genlo began "as you can see from the map of our region of space, almost every cargo vessel in this region is either in the Bolian system already or coming here. Since the Romulans possess cloaking devices, their entire fleet could already be inside our own solar system right now and we wouldn't even know it. Your own investigation of the destruction of the ECS Hew Hope indicates that it was most likely destroyed by disruptor fire, a weapon known to be in use on Romulan ships."

He then indicated with his finger the general area on the holo-map that the ECS New Hope was found in before continuing.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but the New Hope was found around here?"

Jon nodded somberly.

Genlo went on "and our path out of the sector and back to Earth will most likely take us past this area where we know someone with disruptor armed vessels has already been actively operating?"

"Quite possibly," Jon said with a regretful tone.

Genlo cleared his throat before continuing in a regretful tone too, "then we can fairly assume that the Romulans are already tracking all of these vessels, and know that we are assembling them here."

It was a statement of assumption, but it was a fair assumption with a distressfully high probability of accuracy.

"Then Captain" Genlo continued "waiting twelve more hours for these ships can only give the Romulans another twelve hours to figure out how best to destroy them and the entire convoy."

The room went morbidly quiet once Genlo had finished, but all eyes had turned to Jon waiting for his reply.

"We can't just abandon these ships and their crews to the mercy of the Romulans." Jon knew when he said it that it was more a statement of principles than any reflection on the realities they faced.

After another long, quiet pause, it was Malcolm that broke the silence.

"Sir, these two vessels are, at this moment, closer to the general exit point to the sector than any other ships. If we order them to proceed at best possible speed toward Earth, they could be picked up by the convoy on the way out. Right now, by making them come here first, we're only increasing the amount of time they will face potential attack. Since the Romulans most likely already correctly assumed our plans, they probably are massing to follow the convoy proper. If two ships head out of the sector on their own then they may ignore them."

Jon responded tersely "or they may destroy them once they realize they won't be joining the convoy immediately."

Malcolm knew his Captain well enough to give him a minute before pressing his point again, the General, on the other hand, did not.

"These ships are too far away to make the deadline for the convoy and considering that the Romulans probably are already aware of the convoy then any delay can only serve to jeopardize the entire operation further. For the Bolian Government, the primary importance is the safety of the Ambassador and her staff."

Genlo, the Chancellor, and all ten of the Bolian ship commanders nodded in agreement.

"The life of the Ambassador is the primary concern for all Bolians" the Chancellor added gravely.

"And if she and her staff's safety were my only concern" the Captain replied, "we would have left yesterday, but I am responsible for the safety of all Coalition member species in this region. My Government has tasked me with getting the Ambassador, her staff, all the ships of the ECA, and all our allies' ships as well safely out of this region of space. Thus as I have been charged I am responsible for these two ships as well" he pointed to them with his finger "and I will wait for them."

The tension had been building in the room since Jon had suggested the option of delaying. Into the argument stepped the third Human in the room. As McCants was beginning to speak Jon felt Malcolm tense again, but it seemed more apprehension this time than the previous sense of alarm. Something strange was happening between the two men and Jon didn't like it.

"Captain" the Ambassador began "these ships are ECA, they have good captains and crews, and they know this region of space very well. They both also had overhauls within the year and at last report, both could sustain warp three point five and max out at warp four point two. If we tell them to turn around now, they'll be past the Bassen Rift in less than three days. Even if the convoy left now it would still be a day behind them in the same time period."

McCants looked briefly at the image floating between everyone as if trying to do the distance and speed calculations in his head. Then he returned his attention to the Captain before continuing.

"Captain, as Earth's Ambassador to Bolarus and as ECA Director for this region, I'm forced to agree with our Bolian hosts. These ships should be instructed to proceed home immediately. Everyone on every ECA ship knows the potential risks involved in space commerce. All the ships, including these two, stand a better chance if they head home now, and the convoy leaves on or even before the scheduled time."

The whole time McCants was speaking, Jon could see from the corner of his eye Malcolm working his jaw muscles under the skin of his cheek. Till now Jon hadn't had any reason to question McCant's sincerity, and he still didn't have a reason of his own, but having Malcolm clearly disturbed by the Ambassador was enough to make Jon weary too.

McCants, as Ambassador, was the Human civilian authority in the region. Exactly what authority an ambassador could wield over a military commander within his jurisdiction was and had been a grey area throughout Earth's history. Jon was a ship commander; and as such, if an ambassador asked him for help he was obligated to provide it. On the other hand, an ambassador could not give military commanders orders on how to conduct military operations, which is what escorting the convoy would be. These things were usually sorted out when they arose either by coming to terms with each other or by letting each sides' superiors work it out back home. Since there was no time to call home for instructions, Jon decided that he would have to yield or risk this entire meeting becoming an unproductive affair. There was simply no time to debate each decision.

"I don't agree with sending these ships out on their own, no matter if their crews know the risks or not, but I can see the tactical value of getting the convoy moving on time. I want it noted that I oppose separating these ships from convoy protection, but I will differ to Ambassador McCant's request to do so."

Everyone in the room except Jon seemed relieved, even Malcolm.

"Very well" the General announced, "let's proceed to the next issue. I believe it's time for the convoy route to be discussed."

Jon looked over to Malcolm who already had his tricorder out. He had previously been given the holographic projector's specifications; and when he tapped a few commands in the tricorder, the holo-projector added a blue solid line path to the 3D sector map. It stretched from the Bolian System toward the left of the Bassen Rift Nebula; and on into infinity where it supposedly went onward to Earth. It wasn't exactly straight, Ensign Mayweather had mapped it out to avoid any potential physical and gravitational hazards. He also chose a path that was slightly different than the one Enterprise had taken to enter the sector.

"This is the second most direct path out of the sector" Malcolm began "the most direct path is also the most traveled, and thus most likely to be monitored. This path will only add eight point five hours to the overall travel time at the set convoy speed of warp three point five. The total travel time along this path, to fully clear the sector would be fifteen days, seven hours. However, this is not the route the convoy will be taking."

Everyone besides Jon and Malcolm exchanged curious looks over the last comments before Malcolm continued.

"On the assumption that the current territory of the Romulan Star Empire borders this sector on the galactic spinward side, we've calculated a path that will allow us the minimal exposure time in their assumed vicinity."

Malcolm tapped a few buttons on his tricorder and the blue path changed. Everyone in the room appeared to be surprised at the new path.

Malcolm continued despite the obvious anxiety the new path had caused his audience.

"Statistically, this is one of the least likely courses for the convoy to try to leave the sector by."

"You bet it is" Ambassador McCants added, "it's aiming the convoy directly across the path where the Romulans will most likely will enter the sector."

"Precisely" added Jon "it's the last thing they'll expect us to do."

"Indeed" intoned the so far generally quiet Chancellor "nothing surprises one so much as group suicide."

That only made Jon smirk with confidence "that's exactly what we're hoping the Romulans will think too."

Jon nodded at Malcolm to continue.

"The tactical assumption is that the Romulans are already in this sector now using their cloaking devices, thus they are already stationed along the traditional travel routes to monitor for the convoy, or the Romulans will enter the sector in force from the galactic spinward direction. Either way, this exit route will not be what they are expecting. If they offer any combative resistance along this path, it will not be from their own pre-made tactical plans. They will be forced to improvise and draw forces from previously planned assignments. We may also encounter these improvised forces in a piece-meal fashion. Our chances of surviving strafing attacks by two or three Birds-of-Prey at a time, instead of whole squadrons, greatly increase our chances of successfully exiting the region."

"Plus there's one more advantage to this path," Jon added.

The General nodded in understanding "the Nebula."

"Exactly General" Jon acknowledged "if we take the original path, we give the Romulans fifteen and a half days to attack us, maybe more depending on how far they're willing to chase us; with no cover, nowhere to run for protection but straight on. This new path gets us to the nebula in four days and six hours. Once we have the nebula on the convoy's left we will be able to use it as a place for hiding whenever the Romulans poke their heads out. Skirting along the edge of the nebula will add several days to our exit time, but we'll always be able to move into it immediately should the Romulans want to fight."

Commander Kann'Law spoke up then "Sir, the Bassen Rift Nebula is a new phenomenon to us and has not been well navigated or mapped since the fall of the Delphic Expanse's thermobaric barrier. What we do know about it is that it disrupts most forms of electromagnetic sensing and communicating. Once the convoy enters the Rift, they'll be no means of navigating or communicating between vessels. Do we have a plan to compensate for this problem?"

Again Jon nodded to Malcolm for the answer.

"Each ship in the convoy will be assigned a random alpha/numerical designation. For the duration of the egress from the sector, all ships will use directed pulse lasers to communicate with each other. The only way the Romulans could pick up this form of communication is to be directly between the transmitting ship and the receiving ship. This should effectively render the entire convoy transmission free, outside of false communications to confuse them with. Should the convoy be forced to enter the nebula, we believe that pulse laser transmissions will still be sensor readable within ten thousand meters. When a ship receives the laser message from another, all it should get is the ship's designation number with a letter at the end. The letter will correspond to a preset fifteen-degree direction along the cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the axis of the laser beam. The sending ship will have already begun moving to a point five thousand meters from its sending point, along that same fifteen-degree path. Any ship that receives the pulse laser message will also move along that same fifteen degree path to a five thousand meter point away from its receiving position, before transmitting its own pulse laser reply, which will include first the original transmitting ship's designation and movement letter, followed by its own designation and another fifteen degree movement indication letter."

Malcolm paused to make sure everyone understood the complicated sequence of events the ships would need to follow to communicate with each other inside the nebula. When no one seemed confused he continued.

"Once a ship finds another they will continue to move along the fifteen-degree perpendicular plane together, while hopefully adding more ships in as well. So long as they continue to move in a circular fashion around the fifteen-degree direction segments they should remain in relatively the same axis of rotation, and shouldn't stray too far from their original nebula entrance point."

Jon added "Should all forty-three…sorry, forty-one ships" he didn't want them to forget that they might have just doomed two cargo crews and their ships to oblivion "in the convoy be able to form up into one line, we'll use the pulse lasers to maintain the distance between us and to stay in line while we attempt to navigate in the nebula. We'll determine then if we're in good enough condition to attempt to move together inside of the nebula."

Several eyebrows were raised by that difficult prospect.

One of the female ship commanders asked a question then "how deep into the nebula should the ships go before stopping and reaching their waiting points?"

Malcolm answered her "Once Enterprise has determined it's in the convoy's best interest to enter the nebula, we'll transmit via pulse laser only, a set of commands to each ship with the direction to enter the nebula from, how deep to go into it, and how long to wait before emerging if they can't establish contact with other ships. After thirty minutes of entering the nebula, the ships can begin using their own pulse lasers to contact each other and form up. Assuming all ships are in communication before the designated time to leave the nebula, Enterprise will then issue orders for other convoy movement options."

Genlo cleared his throat before asking, "can ships move at warp within the nebula?"

Jon sighed with regret "no, they'll have to move in the nebula at sublight speeds."

"I see" Genlo continued, "so this trip could literally take years to complete, depending on how persistent the Romulans are?"

Jon let Malcolm answer "even if we are forced to stay inside the nebula for days, eventually we'll emerge and attempt to run at warp speeds. The tactical assumption is that the Romulans won't know where or when we'll emerge from the nebula, so we'll hopefully be able to take advantage of that to evade them for as long as possible once we've emerged."

"Ah, thank you Lieutenant" Genlo added.

"This will be a difficult task." Jon stated, "our chances for success are based on the discipline of the ships and their captains; a bit of surprise in our plans, and the hope that the Romulans will not be able to bring sufficient forces to bear against us at one time. The immediate destination for the convoy is the 70 Virginus System. It will take the convoy forty-six days at warp three point five to reach 70 Virginus, uninterrupted. A few days beforehand, several Starfleet vessels will reach that system, ready to provide support to the convoy if needed."

He paused to briefly collect his thoughts, then asked, "does anyone have any additional questions or concerns?"

"Sir" Commander Kann'Law said "we look forward to successfully defending this convoy, and our Ambassador, from the Romulan invaders; under your command. We stand ready to receive your orders."

At that moment all ten ship commanders again returned to perfect attention stance, right fists clenched and drawn in unison to their left breasts in salute. The General and Genlo did the same, but the ship commanders' eyes were on Jon. He clenched his right fist and placed it over his heart. They all lowered their fists in unison.

"Sir" Malcolm said to Jon "as per your previous instructions, I'll return with the ship commanders to the southern base. Assuming nothing went wrong while we were here, all ten Bolian ships should be ready this afternoon or this evening. I'll report to you directly at the Palace before returning to Enterprise this evening."

"Sounds good Malcolm, I'll see you then."

Lieutenant Reed then joined the ship Commander's as they left by the back way.

The Captain left with the other dignitaries. They said their goodbyes and moved off to do their preparation work wherever each needed to be. Jon moved to leave the compound and walk back to the awaiting ground car that would take him back to the Palace. He found Ambassador McCants had caught up with him.

"Captain" he began as they walked together "before I left to come to the meeting I received an encoded transmission from EarthGov. It's not much of a surprise, but they have ordered the complete evacuation of all Humans from the Bolian Sector, including me and my staff. Afraid my time as Ambassador in residence here on Bolarus was very short."

"We'll make room for you on Enterprise" Jon added "but it might be tight. We'll already have Ambassador Tallshe and her staff on board."

Jon had just before the meeting checked with Hoshi and Travis to make sure the final preparations for the Ambassador and her staff had been finished. Their supplies were already on board, and several of the crewmen had already been moved to temporary quarters in two converted cargo bays so that the Bolians could have their slightly more comfortable normal quarters. Since Trip and T'pol were still "sick" down on G Deck, the Ambassador would be put in T'pol's quarters. With Cadet Jenkins already in Trip's room, he planned to have T&T stay down on G Deck for the duration. Having to ask the Bolian Ambassador to Earth to move quarters in transit might raise more questions about his second and third officers and their mutual "illness" than it would be worth answering. He was sure Trip would just "hate" having all that alone space down there with his secret new wife.

"That won't be necessary Captain. The Human members of my staff number four, including me. Everyone else on staff are Bolians and plan to stay. I hadn't had the chance to turn our ECA office into a full-fledged embassy yet. We'll find room on some of the ECA ships, they're always looking for extra hands."

"If you're sure Ambassador…."

"I am" he replied, "we all came here off cargo ships ourselves, we'll feel right at home."

"Alright, if you insist" Jon finished, then he thought of one more thing.

"Mr. Ambassador, the two ships we're ordering to leave on their own. What ships are they?"

The Ambassador quirked up his lips into a concerned expression, then said "they are the ECS Cumberland and ECS Ventura Maru. They're both top of the line warp four cargo ships and they can sustain warp four point two for days on end if need be. They'll probably already be long gone by the time the convoy reaches 70 Virginus."

Jon briefly considered the Ambassador. Before Lieutenant Reed had acted "defensively" toward his presence at the meeting, Jon had mostly not given the man much consideration outside of his official position. Now he found himself questioning the man's motives and statements without even knowing why he should do such a thing. Jon had learned to trust his crew member's instincts, especially in areas that they were experts in. Malcolm was one of the best security and weapons experts in Starfleet. If something made him tense up, Jon sure as Hell knew it was in his best interest to pay attention. He again reminded himself to ask Malcolm what had set him off about the Ambassador.

"Let us hope so Mr. Ambassador" and with a curt nod, they departed company.

* * *

G Deck was the lowest point on Enterprise, and because of this the outer hull of the ship leaned at a very steep angle. There were round transparent aluminum portholes in the hull to look out of, but because of the extreme hull angle, you had to lean out onto the hull surface to look out of them, and you basically could only see straight down.

That was exactly what Trip was doing at that moment. Looking down at the blue on blue ball he knew was Bolarus. He vaguely wished he'd got to go down there himself but quickly dismissed the notion. He was doing exactly what he'd always wanted to do…with her, even if it was physically more taxing then he thought it would be.

When they were both awake, she wanted "guv" and lots of "guv".

When they were asleep together they were either visiting past aspects of each other's lives or having telepathic "guv". Usually a little of both. Then they would wake and have some more real life "guv".

 _"She's just a 'guv' machine."_ Trip snickered as he thought of the old Earth song with a similar name.

He didn't get to sleep when she was awake, so the only time he got to himself was when she passed out from exhaustion, which surprisingly under the physical circumstances they were both in didn't happen a whole lot. She was a microbe and biologically fueled "guv" machine. The trick for him was to not be so tired when she passed out that he too passed out right away. That was much harder than one would have thought to do.

Right at that moment, she was very much asleep.

He could feel her mind searching for him, but she wasn't strong enough at that moment to force herself awake.

He needed a break, badly.

He shoved another sandwich in his mouth, he was so numb that his taste buds wouldn't allow him to know what kind of sandwich he was eating.

 _"Not that I care at this point what kind of sandwich it is."_

He was able to stay awake this last time more so because he was starving than any conscious effort on his part to just be awake.

He hadn't been in his best physical condition before T'pol entered Pon Farr, but somehow he had at the very least kept up with her. Whether the Doc was right and her Pon Farr was rubbing off on him too, or he just really wanted to do this with her, he couldn't really say. Probably a little of both on that account too.

He looked into the corner of the kitchen area where the cart he smashed a few days before lay in a relatively neat pile now.

 _"Yeah, guess I had reserves of strength I didn't even realize."_

Even he couldn't quite make himself believe that T'pol's Pon Farr and their marriage bond somehow multiplied his own physical strength to be able to destroy an Aluminum cart with a flick of his wrist. He told Doc he'd smashed it in a rage, but in reality, he only barely shoved his out of his way.

 _"Well, that's a mystery for another day."_

He was lying down on a thick blanket laid out on the hull so he could look down through the porthole. The metal was very cold, even through the thick blanket. Since it was the only thing between him and the near absolute zero of space, except for several active and passive thermal layers of hull plating, it only made sense that it was cold. Too cold for him to lie directly on, but the rest of him was burning hot. He'd felt like he had a fever since the beginning of all this, and he was completely naked now in an attempt to stay cool. The kitchen area wasn't as warm as Guest Room B, where his T'hy'la was getting her beauty rest at the moment, but it was warm enough to not merit him dressing.

 _"Guest Room B, G Deck,"_ he thought _"don't think I'll ever think of it as anything other than 'The Guv Room' from now on."_

That made him chuckle a bit.

Then he heard a faint feminine voice in his head say _"guv, weht guv ashal, weht guv"._

He tried to clear his mind of all thoughts of "guv", else risk waking her. They both needed a break desperately. He instinctively knew that the Pon Farr was not over, but he also realized a normal Pon Farr didn't last anywhere near this long. She couldn't pace them herself, so he'd have to do his best to regulate their activities himself.

He grabbed a protein shake beside him and refocused his attention back down through the porthole to the planet below. Since he hadn't seen Phlox for almost more than a day he figured the Doc was down on the planet. He hoped Phlox got back up here before the food ran low.

If Phlox was down there, you could bet the Captain was too, and probably Hoshi as well. Whether Malcolm was down there was a toss-up. He was right behind T'pol and Trip in Enterprise's chain of command, and since the Romulans were known to be in the neighborhood, more than likely Malcolm would be in charge up here. Yet there were potential reasons that the Chief of Security might need to accompany the Captain planet-side too.

 _"T'pol and I being laid up is probably getting lots of folks some 'Big Chair Time'."_

At first, he felt bad, having put so many people out of their normal routines, but then he re-evaluated. A Starfleet officer wasn't supposed to be too comfortable doing just one thing. You were supposed to be an expert in your field, but ready to assume command or help in other departments as needed. If you stayed in your comfort zone you'd never learn if you could exceed your own expectations. It would also be difficult for Starfleet to identify whether you were worthy of promotion and career advancement if you never had the chance to exceed expectations.

He thought back to last year when he had to assume command of Enterprise when T'pol and Jon were lost in The Forge on Vulcan, and then V'Las chased them from orbit. Going to look for Shran nearly led to open war between Andoria and Vulcan.

 _"That would have been the end of my career had it gone south."_

It had had every chance to go wrong too; but somehow, despite unintentionally inciting the Andorians to launch a preemptive strike against the Vulcans, and despite Shran kidnapping Ambassador Soval, and despite parking Enterprise between the two fleets and risking destruction and death for the entire crew, somehow Trip had held it together and convinced them not to kill each other.

 _"Shoot, the President herself sent me a commendation order, even Dad was impressed."_

He thought back to when Enterprise was first getting ready to launch. The original plan had been for him to be Chief Engineer AND First Officer.

That made him chuckle again.

 _"Weren't we naive?"_ he thought _"I wouldn't have lasted a month doing both jobs."_

He also hadn't wanted that "Vulcan spy" on board, no matter how sexy she was. Thinking back on it now though, he was grateful for her. Not just because she was his wife now and the love of his life, but because her steady presence and sound decisions and advice had basically made Enterprise a success. He couldn't have done half her job. She truly was amazing.

He heard her mental voice in his head.

 _"My ashal is amazing too."_

 _"I love you too baby"_ he sent back to her still sleeping mind.

 _"I'll need you soon,"_ she told him _"don't take too long to recuperate."_

He looked back down at Bolarus again, all blue on blue, like its native inhabitants.

Truth be told, he had often in the last five years exceeded his own expectations; and the expectations those he worked with had had for him. He had a lot to personally be proud of.

 _"Who knows,"_ he thought as he stared off into space, _"perhaps I'll be a starship captain myself one of these days."_


	11. Chapter 11

He was tired of looking at PADDs. It seemed that as time went on being a Starfleet Captain had become more about paperwork and less about actually commanding a starship. In this particular case, almost all the paperwork was about organizing the convoy. Several ship captains, especially the alien captains, were finding fault with the repair work that Anna's engineering teams were doing for them, free of charge. They weren't complaining so much about the actual quality of the team's work, Jon would have been surprised if anyone could find fault with engineering work done by his engineers, they were literally the best in Starfleet, Trip would have it no other way. What they were finding fault with was the engineering teams being in the way as they tried to load and unload their cargos.

"Don't these people realize their lives are at stake?"

"I'm sorry Sir, what was that?" Hoshi asked him. He hadn't realized he was vocalizing his thoughts.

"Sorry Hoshi, didn't realize I'd spoke out loud."

"No problem Sir" she replied, "I'm used to it."

Jon scowled at her comment "you're used to what Ensign?"

She looked back pensively before deciding how to comment.

"Well, Sir….um…you have a tendency to…mumble when you're thinking to yourself…Sir."

Jon blinked in surprise before asking "Are you sure about that? I'm pretty sure I don't mumble."

Hoshi swallowed before adding "yes Sir, I'm the Communications Officer. I have to pay attention to what you say and how you say it. I've been doing so for the better part of five years now."

Jon scowled again "I'm aware of that Ensign."

She looked like she wanted to leave then, in a hurry. He decided he'd tortured her enough for one afternoon.

"It's okay Hoshi, I'm sure I mumble if you say I do. Does my Communications Officer have some advice on how I can stop doing that?"

"Actually," she said "there's some literature on that I think you should read. I'll put it in your personal reading queue." With a few taps on her own PADD she sent the relative reading materials to his personal reading queue.

"Greaaaaaaaat" he replied with sarcasm "you know I don't have nearly enough to read these days." He held up the PADDs he had in each hand to emphasize his point.

She smiled back in sympathy before holding up two of her own.

"Sorry to drag you into this mess," he said to her "but if I didn't have help with all…..THIS" he waved his hand over the PADDs still on the table with some disgust showing on his face "we wouldn't be leaving this week, much less tomorrow."

"It's alright Sir," she said, "I don't mind."

"Well, you should, I mind! If it hadn't been for T'pol getting sick I'd never known how much paperwork these kinds of operations require; much less just the regular amount of paperwork she plowed through on a daily basis. I don't know how other Starfleet Captains do it! I thought my regular amount of paperwork had been borderline ridiculous before all of this occurred. Quite frankly I also don't like the fact that I have to pull you from your regular duties to act as my administrative assistant. That's not what you signed up for. I also don't like the fact T'pol's apparently been doing secretarial work for me the whole time too! That's neither of your duties."

"Admittedly, it is a lot of work" Hoshi added "but I'm sure the Commander has developed her own system for handling it. She's never complained about it before."

Jon smirked at that "like she would complain about that?"

Hoshi twisted up the corner of her mouth before replying "well, no, she wouldn't."

"And that's beside the point," Jon said as he tossed the PADD in his left hand on the table "this is my work, neither of you should be bothered with this."

"Sir" Hoshi started "even Commander T'pol would find this level of work difficult to manage on her own. If I may be so bold Sir, you actually do need a secretary to handle all this effectively."

Jon twisted his face up mournfully "actually, the original plan for Enterprise had been to have a Captain's Yeoman as part of the crew compliment."

"Really?" Hoshi asked in a bit of surprise. Jon confirmed with a nod while never taking his eyes off the PADD he was reading.

She asked "what happened to that? Seems it would have been perfect for something like…..THIS."

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah" Jon sighed in replied, "someone thought they knew better and decided that was a bunk space better used by an engineering tech or science tech."

"Who was that idiot?" Hoshi asked with a mild laugh.

The long quiet that followed made Hoshi grow nervous. She slowly and reluctantly raised her eyes from her PADD to see what the Captain was doing. He was still reading his own PADD, but when he felt her eyes on him he replied to her.

"That's right Hoshi, you're looking at that idiot."

Hoshi was mortified "Sir…I'm so…I didn't mean….I…"

Jon looked up and began to laugh. Her expression had changed from concerned to devastated and now to terrified confusion all in a matter of seconds. He tried to stop laughing and raised his palm to her to indicate he was alright.

Once he regained the ability to speak he said: "It's alright Hoshi, all this paperwork makes me feel like I was an idiot then too."

"Sir…..I'm so sorry…I didn't…"

"Seriously Hoshi, it's alright" He couldn't stop grinning "if it makes you feel better, I've already asked the Personnel Office to adjust our crew to include a Yeoman, clearly we need one."

"Amen….um…Sir."

Jon laughed again before returning to his PADD. A few moments passed before Hoshi spoke again.

"Sir," she asked, "if you don't mind me asking, you were saying that these people don't realize their lives are at stake?"

"What's that….oh, yeah. I was talking about the ship captains and their crews. Seems every five minutes one of them submits another complaint about our engineering crews being in the way of them doing commerce. You'd think they'd be a bit more appreciative of the fact we're here to protect them from death and destruction; but instead, they seem more irritated that we're fixing their ships for them and slowing down their operations."

Hoshi pondered Jon's words for a minute before replying. "Well Sir, it's all they know to do."

Her comment took Jon a moment to process.

"Wow," he said "I guess that's the truth of it. It's their way of life. It's what they do and here we are disrupting it. I suppose I can understand their frustration, even if it's not warranted."

Hoshi seemed a bit confused at first but she rolled with the conversation.

"Well Sir, that wasn't exactly what I meant" she added, "but I can see it that way as well."

"How did you mean it?" Jon asked.

"Well Sir" she answered "when you're scared you can either get angry, hide in fear, or continue about your work. Everyone has to be scared of what's coming. The Bolians are scared, but they refuse to let themselves get down. The cargo crews can't be much different. The work is what they know to do, and doing so helps takes their minds off of the Romulans."

That seemed to also make a great deal of sense to Jon. Hoshi could be very a very deep thinker at times and would often see things in a way that none of the other Bridge Officers would. Jon found that to be a valuable quality in her.

Just then Hoshi's communicator chirped. She retrieved it from her pocket and flipped it open to respond.

"Sato here."

["Reyes here Sir. We have a Priority One encoded communique from Starfleet Command, with a rider Sir"]

Hoshi and Jon both exchanged looks. A "rider" was an internal colloquial code-word on Enterprise to indicate that the message had an additional level of encoding that only Hoshi and the Captain together could decode.

["Also Sir"] Reyes continued ["the message is over eight hours old."]

The looks Hoshi and Jon exchanged then went from intense curiosity to intense concern.

"This is the Captain, can you confirm you said the message was eight hours old?"

["Yes Sir, confirmed. The message is not in real-time, it has an eight hour delay."]

"Understood crewman, the Ensign and I will beam up to the ship shortly. Have a transporter tech standing by."

["Yes Sir, Reyes out"]

"Let Malcolm know we're heading up to the ship," Jon said to Hoshi.

"Ensign Sato to Lieutenant Reed," she said to her communicator.

A few moments later Reed responded. ["Lieutenant Reed here."]

"The Captain and I are heading to the ship via transporter. We'll let you know when we return."

["Understood Ensign, anything serious I should know about?"]

"Malcolm" Jon said "it's the Captain. It's nothing immediate and I'll fill you in when we get back. You have command on the surface till we return."

["Understood Sir, Reed out."]

Jon thought for a second then said "we should let the Sooba'Dar's people know we'll be coming and going by the transporter. We should also go outside for it. No telling what kind of security sensors we might set off in the Palace."

They secured the PADDs they had been working on and made their way out of the Palace toward the gardens. Hoshi had communicated with the Chancellor of the Bedchamber's Office their intention to leave and return via transporter while they had been walking through the hallways of the Palace. Once they had exited through the doors to the garden and began walking to an appropriate spot on the terrace, Jon hesitated briefly before turning back.

He approached both of the massive Sooba'Darian Guards that guarded either side of the doors leading back into the Palace. He approached the one with the more elaborate rank insignia, hoping he was the senior of the two guards there. When he was beside him he had to look upward at the huge blue man's face. The guard was at least two meters tall.

"Um….." Jon started out saying "we have to return to our ship. We'll be using our transporter. It's a matter energy conversion device that allows even living beings to be converted to energy and back to themselves again. I wasn't sure if you were aware of this type of technology."

Without turning his gaze from straight ahead the guard slightly nodded in the affirmative.

"Ah, that's good!" Jon said, "we'll return to the same spot where we leave right there on the terrace,….if that's alright?"

The guard somberly nodded again.

"Well…..good, um…thanks" and then Jon returned to Hoshi's side on the terrace.

Hoshi smirked a bit at him as he approached.

"What?" he asked her "I just wanted to make sure we didn't freak them out. Last thing we need is those two charging at us when we show back up out of thin air."

Hoshi chuckled a bit "that would be an unpleasant experience."

Jon filled open his communicator to activate it.

"Archer to Enterprise. Two standing by for transport."

["Transporter room here Sir, we're locking on to your coordinates now, please standby."]

Hoshi seemed to tense a bit. Jon said to her "I'm not a big fan of the transporter either, but Avery swears by the latest upgrades."

Hoshi seemed unimpressed that the inventor of the transporter would swear by it.

["Transporter here Sir. We have your coordinates and we're standing by to bring you up."]

"Proceed" Jon replied.

A few seconds later Jon could feel his skin tingle and see the Palace gardens begin to fade into slipstreaming grey matter. Then the familiar walls of Enterprise began to form in front of him. When the world became solid again the tingling feeling dissolved. He looked to his right to make sure Hoshi was in one piece, and once he'd confirmed it they stepped off the transporter together.

"Good job as always Martin," he told the tech.

"Thank you, Sir" Martin replied with some pride showing in his face.

A short turbolift ride later and they were on the Bridge. Lieutenant Mahajan was Deck Officer, which she preferred to man from the Science Station, much like her direct boss Commander T'pol.

"Sir" she stated as he moved off of the turbolift "two more cargo ships have arrived since the last report. Lieutenant Hess has dispatched a team to see to their repair needs. Lieutenant Reed has already sent back the engineering personnel Lieutenant Hess had earlier dispatched to assist his security teams, his security personnel have almost completed the upgrades to the Bolian defense ships."

"Outstanding" Jon replied.

Hoshi was already talking to Crewman Reyes at the Comm. Station.

"Hoshi" he called "you and Reyes join me when you're ready."

"Aye, Sir" she responded to him.

"Oh, one more thing Sir" Lunasha Mahajan said to him "Doctor Phlox believes that Commanders T'pol and Tucker will need an additional week of recovery time before he can certify them fit for duty."

Jon sighed heavily at this bad news. Now had been a bad time to lose both his left and his right hands. "Understood, you still have the deck Lieutenant."

"Yes, Sir" she responded. He couldn't help but notice her well-shaped posterior as she turned back to the Science Station. It was much larger than T'pol's backside but well-shaped and it fit with her more ample hips. Her rear reminded him of Cel'Lya's nice hips and back side.

" _Damn Jo,n"_ he thought to himself _"focus you old perv."_

He entered his ready room and sat behind his desk. He began reading the latest reports. Sure enough, about eleven hours ago automatic subspace updates seemed to have stopped. They then began arriving again three hours ago, all of them eight hours behind.

He's door chime beeped at him.

"Enter" he called out.

Hoshi and Crewman Julia Reyes entered.

He went right into the discussion "If we stopped getting the subspace auto-updates eleven hours ago, why are we just now realizing it?"

Crewman Reyes had a slightly mortified look on her face, but Hoshi answered for her intimidated subordinate.

"Sir, we didn't stop receiving all auto-updates. Starfleet sends all lower priority subspace communications by traditional subspace, so there's always a time delay this far from the transmission source. This saves the subspace relay system from being overloaded with low-priority information that would slow the system down. Starfleet Command sends out a higher-priority packet of data every eighteen hours that gives us system updates and updates our computer information. We received that packet on schedule at zero three hundred this morning. Had we not gotten the Priority One message from Starfleet Command, we wouldn't have known of the time delay till seventeen hundred hours this evening."

Reyes visibly began to relax during Hoshi's succinct explanation.

Jon asked, "why do all of my updates, including regular low-level minutia, have the eight hour delay then?"

Hoshi nodded to Reyes to answer him.

"Sir, um…all of the notifications to the captain of a starship are marked priority, so they are all sent via subspace relay system."

"Well isn't that just grand," Jon said sarcastically, "so had I been reading my own notifications on time…."

"You would have been the first to notice the time delay, yes Sir" Hoshi finished for him awkwardly.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and let out a heavy sigh.

Once he had refocused he continued "so, this means the subspace relay network that we spent the last few months deploying on our way here is down?"

Again Hoshi differed to her subordinate.

Reyes said, "they're either being jammed, which we have no sensor evidence of; or they've been offlined manually."

"You mean destroyed?" Jon asked.

Reyes swallowed hard before replying "um….not exactly Sir, well…what I mean to say, Sir, is that we have no way to be certain of that."

Hoshi added "When Julia noticed the delay she contacted us immediately and then initiated a subspace pulse back along the relay network. The last three of the relays we deployed are functioning normally. The gap in the network starts past that. The relays are deployed so that their boosted signals speeds can reach….."

Jon stopped her there "I have a layman's general understanding of how subspace relays work Ensign."

Hoshi seemed mildly embarrassed and perturbed at Jon stopping her, but as usual, she quickly recovered.

"What I need to know is how far back along the network the relays have been destroyed…I mean,….'offlined'?" he asked.

Hoshi nodded again to Reyes. She stated "the eight-hour delay would indicate that at least four relays have been offlined, Sir. Once the subspace pulse exceeds the limit of its boosted range without being picked up by another relay, it begins traveling at normal subspace speeds till it reaches the next closest relay. I sent the pulse out fifteen minutes ago. When it reaches the next available relay it will return an online confirmation back along the network to us. You then divide the total time in half…"

"And you get the total actual travel time of the pulse. Then you can tell for certain how many relays are 'non-functional'." Jon completed for her.

"Um…..yes, Sir" Reyes replied.

"What about the older ECA relay network? Is it still working?"

Hoshi responded "The first thing to understand about the ECA network is that it was never a real-time network, Sir. The total message time from Earth to Bolarus was between eight and fifteen minutes one way, depending on network traffic. The system is old technology and if no one is using it to send a message that they expect immediate replies to, no one will notice if it's offline."

"Also, Sir" Reyes broke in "Starfleet only transmits priority messages along civilian subspace relay networks as a last resort in emergency situations. One reason for Starfleet not using civilian networks is that civilian networks are rare and getting rarer as Starfleet deploys newer and faster relays to replace them. The new Starfleet relays have more than enough capacity for Starfleet and civilian comm. traffic. The other reason Starfleet doesn't regularly use civilian networks is that they are notoriously insecure. Any ship with a half-way competent comms. person within five light years of one can tap into it and read all the traffic."

"Nice…." Jon added sarcastically "but Starfleet priority messages are encoded before transmission. You'd need the decryption codes to read the messages."

"That's true, Sir" Hoshi replied, "but so far Starfleet hasn't been willing take the risk."

"So what you're telling me is we don't know if the ECA relays are up and running?" he asked.

"No, Sir, we don't routinely monitor civilian comm. traffic" Hoshi stated "but we can initiate a pulse along their network to find out. However, the pulse might be picked up by the ECA ships and the ECA office down on Bolarus. If we want to do this without unduly alarming them…."

"Okay," Jon said, "can the ECA office on the planet send the pulse without the cargo crews knowing it?"

"They should be able to send a diagnostic pulse that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows," Hoshi said, "We can make the request."

Jon nodded to Crewman Reyes "do so; and crewman, good job."

She seemed genuinely surprised at her Captain's praise "yes Sir, thank you, Sir."

After a brief glance to Hoshi, Crewman Reyes exited the room to reassume her station and preform her newly assigned task.

"And good job to you too" he added after the door had closed.

Hoshi seemed confused and asked "Sir?"

"She learned her job from your instruction and under your supervision. Surely you deserve some praise for her performance as well."

Hoshi blushed only slightly before adding "both her and Kat Walters were both very good comm. techs before they came on board. Not sure how much I've added to that knowledge but it's not a whole lot, I'm sure."

"And I'm sure" Jon replied "that you're wrong about that. I've seen you work with them daily. They've learned a lot from you, and not just about languages and communications systems; but also about being in Starfleet and how to go about their duties. T'pol once commented that we Humans sometimes exhibit too much humility when we actually deserve the praise we get. I think that's the case here, Ensign. So I'll say it again, good job Hoshi. Also, you allowed her to take credit for her work in her own words while defending her when I asked hard questions. That's exactly what a leader should do for their subordinates when both are confronted by the questions of their superior officers. We'll make a Starfleet Captain out of you yet Hoshi."

She was fully blushing then but accepted Jon's praise "Thank you, Sir, very much."

He smiled back at her, then he indicated with his head for her to take the seat on the other side of the desk. As she began to settle herself in the chair, his desk monitor chirped at him. The encoded message from Starfleet Command had been decoded by Crewman Reyes and forwarded to his monitor. He turned the monitor so both he and Hoshi code see it, then he touched the activate button. The image of Admiral Raquel M'benga appeared on the screen.

Jon was about to press the "Play" button when Hoshi said to him "wait, Sir, let me get a look at her hands."

After she examined the Admiral's hand placement she turned back to Jon.

"Sir, can you forward the message to the fifty-six second mark?"

Jon fast-forwarded the video to that time stamp. He noticed the Admiral's hand placement had changed.

Hoshi nodded to herself before saying "I know which codebook we'll need now, Sir."

Jon had only once seen the safe that held the codebooks opened before. It had been the day before he first met T'pol. Enterprise was still in space dock, but the public launch was only a few days away. That was the day the codebooks were brought on board Enterprise, under armed guard. Specifically, six of Starfleet Security's most intimidating looking guards, fully armed with pulse rifles; and surprisingly under the command of a very short, petite, and very blonde Lieutenant wearing blue on her jumpsuit, and equipped with a sugar sweet southern accent and personality to match. Jon remembered thinking that Trip was going to ask her to marry him before she got off the ship.

They had come from Starfleet Command on a shuttle that was itself guarded by four other fully armed shuttles.

He thought he remembered the sweet little Lieutenant's name was Stuart or Stevens or something starting with "st". She handed him, Hoshi, and Trip, who was supposed to be the first officer as well as chief engineer at that point, each a key. She told them that any two of the three keys can open the safe. Jon had been surprised to find a safe hidden behind a concealed panel next to his desk, near the floor. The safe had three locks on the surface in a triangle pattern, and a tiny finger loop in the middle of the triangle so that you can pull the safe open. The safe was hinged at the bottom so that the top had the opening. On the inside was a fourth lock.

Jon remembered the "production" that the Lieutenant and the Chief that led the security team went through then. His tiny ready room had never been so crowded. Hoshi, Trip, and himself jammed into the corner, watching. The Communications Lieutenant was on his side of the desk, the Security Chief located opposite her on the other side of the desk. The rest of the security team was in the hallway guarding a well secured box that contained the code books. One of the security team in the hallway had a PADD in hand. The Lieutenant, in her syrupy sweet southern accent formally asked the Chief for the safe master key. In his gruff, Germanic voice, the Chief repeated her request and the crewman in the hallway made a note on his PADD. Two security men placed their thumbs on recognition pads on the top of the locked box. The Security Chief placed his thumb on a third pad and the smaller of the locked doors on the security box opened. The Chief reached in and retrieved a key on a chain. As he did so he announced he was doing so formally to the whole room. The security man with the PADD tapped some more on his PADD to mark down that the Chief now had the master key. The Chief then announced he was handing the key to the Lieutenant. Once he had handed it to her, she announced to the room that she had the master key. The security man with the PADD added that fact to the record.

Jon remembered how absurd the whole process seemed to him back then.

Every step of the process from that point was accompanied by the verbal description of each movement done by the people doing it. With each verbal description, the man with the PADD duly entered each step.

First, the Lieutenant inserted the master key into the lone inside lock, to set the top lock to open to Jon's key. She then added Trip's key to set the bottom left lock and Hoshi's key to set the bottom right lock, each in turn. Having used the master key to set each of their individual keys to each of the locks available she returned it to the Security Chief who duly returned it to its locked compartment, each step formally announced aloud and recorded.

She then collected their individual keys again, two at a time; and tested each pair in turn to verify they unlocked the safe. Once she verified that all three possible pairing of keys worked, she announced so, the chief repeated her words, and the man with the PADD entered it.

All that work, and they hadn't even loaded the codebooks into the safe yet. There were thirty books, each with a number on the spine. The Chief would unlock the security box, and relock it for each book; before handing each individual book to the Lieutenant, who then announced she had the book, and then would place the book into the safe in numerical order. She would then announce placing each book into the safe, but clearly locking the safe for each new book she added wasn't a required part of the drama. She'd then formally requested the next book by number, the Chief again repeated the words, he and the other two security men (the other two security guards than the two who had used their thumbs to open the panel for the master key) would place their thumbs on their reader pads to open the main door that held the codebooks.

They did this for each book, all thirty of them. The whole process took almost an hour, but it seemed like it had taken half a day to Jon.

The Lieutenant then asked Hoshi, Trip, and finally Jon in turn to formally verify that they had their keys; then to visually verify that she had placed all thirty codebooks into the safe. Then the Chief also verified the codebooks were there, and then each of the other five security men verbally verified all thirty codebooks were there as well. All of them then signed the PADD and verified their ID"s on the PADD with their personal Starfleet access codes.

Finally, the Lieutenant announced she was closing the safe. She did so, then she announced she was testing the safe. She did so by pulling on the finder loop vigorously several times. The Chief then did the same followed by each of his men in turn. They then signed the PADD again to verify the safe was properly latched and locked.

The Chief and his men then departed, with the empty security box, back to their shuttle. The comms. Lieutenant stayed a bit longer to explain to the three of them their responsibilities and duties in relation to the codebooks, the safe, and their keys before leaving them herself. Trip made sure he walked her back to the airlock that led to the shuttle.

The whole process had seemed absurd, and nothing had changed his thoughts on that till this day.

Now, with their communications obviously compromised, the need for the whole production seemed a bit more serious.

Hoshi took her codebook safe key out from her uniform on a chain that held it around her neck, brought Jon back to the present day.

"Sir, as Chief Communications Officer I have verified that this message contains a codebook rider, and I formally request access to the appropriate codebook."

"Agreed Ensign" Jon replied. She handed him her key and he opened his desk drawer to pull out his own.

Hoshi looked slightly mortified to find out he left the key in an unlocked desk drawer next to the actual safe. He blushed a bit as she shook her head back and forth at him disapprovingly.

"I know, I know, bad Captain." He replied shyly back.

He then gently pulled at the concealing panel wall piece next to his right foot. When it came free he set it behind his chair. He then put his key in the top lock and Hoshi's in the bottom right one.

Jon grinned at Hoshi as he leaned over the safe "I feel like I should be announcing each step, while you record it on a PADD."

She snickered a bit, clearly, she too had not forgotten the day the codebooks had been loaded into the safe.

After he turned both keys, Jon pulled on the pull-ring and the safe opened outward from its hinged bottom.

"Alright, which book do we need?" he asked his comm. officer.

"Lucky number thirteen, Sir" she replied.

He reached in to pull out codebook number thirteen. He then handed it to her. When he did so he noticed for the first time that there were color coded sections in the book.

Hoshi briefly looked at the spine of the book before placing it in front of her, still closed.

She then said to him "There's a pocket on the top of the safe that includes a stack of papers and some pencils. Can you remove one sheet of paper and one pencil for me, Sir?"

Sure enough, there was a pocket there. He grabbed a few sheets and two pencils, then placed them on the desk. Hoshi looked like he'd just placed a plate of Porthos's dogfood there for her to eat.

She quickly said, "I'm sorry Sir but by regulations, it must be only one pencil and only one sheet of paper."

"….really?" he asked incredulously. She nodded solemnly in response. He put the extra pencil and sheets of paper back in the safe pocket.

She then asked him "can you move the message back to the thirteen-sec mark Sir?"

Jon did so. When the screen image of Admiral M'benga stopped on the thirteen-second mark there were a few lines of static on the screen. Messages that had traveled some distance often had considerable static in them so there was nothing unusual about that. However, Hoshi started writing down colors across the top of the paper sheet. Jon looked back at the static on the screen, and it did have the usual lines of random colors in them, but he couldn't figure why she put those colors from the screen in the order on the page she had written them.

He tentatively asked her "I don't suppose you could tell me….."

"No, Sir" she replied without preamble "if I did you'd need to file court-martial charges against me for having done so."

"…..Okay, yeah….I knew that already, sorry for asking."

She smirked back at him in sympathy toward his frustrated curiosity.

A moment later she said, "alright Sir, I'm ready, please start the message from the beginning and play it normally."

Jon nodded and then hit the replay button.

["Hello, Jonathan"] Requel's voice said to him ["I hope this transmission finds you and your crew well. I was originally going to transmit this across the new relay network you had laid down on your way there, but there seem to be some technical difficulties so I recorded it for you instead."]

Jon noticed Hoshi wasn't watching the message replay, but listening to the Admiral's voice instead. Every few seconds she'd record something on the paper in her unique form of shorthand. He watched for a moment longer before returning to the Admiral's words himself.

[…..then later. We'll have the NX-02 Columbia and NX-03 Challenger meet you halfway out of the sector. They've already left their previous assignments and can meet you in route to the 36 Ophiucus System within a few days. Also, the Vulcans will be sending a few ships to meet the convoy as well. I suspect they may even reach you before you leave the sector. Again, I apologize for the sudden change; but as you can understand, this will allow you the maximum protection we can afford you. I hope to see you soon Jonathan, safe journey, M'benga out."]

With that, the transmission ended.

Archer sighed heavily before saying "well none of that was true. Challenger couldn't possibly be combat ready yet, and I know Columbia is too far away."

He briefly thought of Erika and how she and the NX-02 were somewhere near the Gamma Leporis System, which meant that even at warp five she couldn't be near the Bolian Sector for three months.

He also thought of the Vulcans. While their warp seven ships could be in the area within days, they had become even less helpful since the revelation of the Kir'Shara then before. He could hardly have believed they'd be less helpful than before, but their society had become even more introverted in the last few months. Here's a perfect situation where they could have really used some good old smug and begrudging Vulcan help.

" _Had I known, I might have left the damn thing in the cave."_

"If I had to speculate, Sir" Hoshi stated "I'd assume that Starfleet Command now believes that our communications networks are compromised. If anything this is meant as distraction or confusion for those they think are reading our signals."

"You mean the Romulans?" he asked her.

With a reluctant sigh, she said, "yes Sir, the Romulans."

"I'd rather not think about them either Hoshi, but that's not a luxury any of us will have for quite some time to come."

She smiled sympathetically back to him before opening Codebook number thirteen.

She flipped from one color-coded section of the codebook to another, always recording one word after another beside the shorthand she'd written before and in the columns marked with a color at the top. A few minutes later she closed the codebook and handed it back to Jon.

"Sir," she said "I'm done with the codebook. Please return it to the safe and lock it."

Jon did just that. He retrieved his and Hoshi's keys and handed her's back to her. He opened the desk drawer to put his key back in it before he noticed Hoshi's disapproving glance.

With a reluctant sigh, he added "….fine" and placed the key loop around his neck and tucking the key into his uniform top. She did the same with her key before returning to the page of chicken-scratch markings in front of them.

Then she used the pencil to put numbers beside the phrases she had written down. It was only then that Jon noticed the words were in French, or at least he thought the language was French.

She then wrote a few sentences at the bottom of the page before turning her attention back to him.

"Sir, I have the encoded message."

"Go ahead" he replied.

"The authentication code is sierra-able-four-nine-five-zebra-dash-three-seven-delta-five-delta-epsilon."

Jon recognized his own authentication code and nodded his acceptance.

She began reading the message.

"Subspace communications believed compromised, Proceed to 70 Virginus max speed, Copernicus, and Dephi waiting when you arrive, No other reinforcements available at this time, Force authorized to defend convoy"

She placed the paper down on the table before adding "that's the whole message, Sir."

Jon nodded "Alright, thank you."

"Yes Sir,….um…just one more thing."

"Oh….OH, yeah" he replied, then he pulled an old fashioned zippo style lighter from his desk drawer. He picked up the piece of paper and set fire to the lower corner. As the flame engulfed the paper he turned it away from his finger-tips by rotating his wrist in an upward fashion. When it became too hot for him to continue to hold he let the remains of the paper and fire fall slowly to the floor. The flame consumed the last of the paper before it hit the ground. The paper wasn't exactly flash-paper quality, but it was pretty close. It left no visible residue of what had been.

Jon turned back to the desk and noticed they had left the pencil out of the safe. He picked it up and handed it to Hoshi. She held up her hand to refuse it.

"You never know," Jon said to her "this pencil could be a valuable historic item one day. 'The pencil that saved the Bolian Sector Convoy'."

She smiled shyly back and added "then I'll come to get it from you, Sir. It's safer in your desk drawer than it would be in my pocket."

She stood to leave "Is there anything else, Sir?"

He shook his head "No, we'll head back down to the planet in a few minutes."

"Um…..Sir" she said "I should wait and make sure we hear back from the ECA on their subspace relay pulse. The next shuttle down leaves in a little over an hour. I can catch it back down and meet you back at the Palace."

Jon cocked an eyebrow at her with a matching smirk "you really hate the transporter that much?"

She smiled knowingly back at him "no comment, Sir."

He laughed a bit "alright Ensign, see you back on the planet.

"Yes, Sir" and then she left the ready room.

Jon rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned around in his chair to look out the viewport. There wasn't much to see at that point, just black space and a few very distant and dim points of light. The darkness and solitude of space matched his mood. This whole voyage had gone sour very quickly, and it was very likely to get worse before it got better. He knew instinctively that the vacuum of space beyond his viewport was also very cold. He could feel the cold seeping through the viewport, through the air, and into his flesh. It felt like it was in his very bones now. He shivered in response to the imaginary cold he knew couldn't get past Enterprise's walls and environmental systems.

He looked down in his hand at the pencil he still held. He twirled the pencil between his fingers, enjoying the feel of it. He thought to himself that sometimes technology could take away some of the joy of doing things the old fashion way, like writing a handwritten letter. He then remembered he had a pile of PADDs waiting on him back down on the planet.

He tapped the comm button on his desk.

"Captain to Transporter"

A few moments later Crewman Martin answered.

["Martin here Sir."]

"I'll be heading back down to the planet, same coordinates as before. Be there in five minutes."

["Understood Sir, I'll be waiting."]

"Alright, Archer out."

He knew the turbolift ride to D deck took all of ten seconds, so he had the better part of the next four minutes to himself.

He looked at the pencil yet again.

" _I can use this pencil as a rudimentary weapon, but it was designed as a writing implement. I could use this pencil to write anything, including a peace treaty. All it would take is the Romulans asking me for one."_

He had always thought of Enterprise in the same way men like his father and Zephram Cochrane had meant it to be; as an instrument of diplomacy, science, exploration, and peace.

" _But it seems Enterprise is destined to be more the weapon and less the implement of peace."_

He heard and felt a "snap" and realized in his frustration he had broken the pencil in two.

He stared at it incomprehensively. It took him a few moments to resolve in his mind what he had done.

Then it hit him.

"Well damn," he declared to the empty room.

He thought about how fragile the pencil was and how, without even realizing it, he had broken it with little effort.

He had just been comparing that tiny pencil to his Enterprise. He squeezed the two pieces of the pencil in his fist and looked out the portal to the darkness of space from which the damned Romulans would be coming at him and his crew.

 _"Well, if the Romulans want to try to break Enterprise, they're welcome to try. I'll make them pay for it, one way or the other."_

Then he tossed the two pieces of the pencil into the desk drawer and closed it.

* * *

Hoshi had never been in Shuttle Pod Four before. She still hadn't ever been in Shuttle Pod Three, but there was a good chance she might ride on it back to Enterprise before the convoy departed. Shuttle Pods Three and Four had sat inside Enterprise's cargo holds, next to the large elevator shafts that opened to space from above and below Enterprise's saucer section, sealed up and preserved for the day they would be needed.

Lieutenant Anna Hess had determined that this mission required all four of Enterprise's available shuttle pods. With engineering crews flying between cargo ships all over the space above Bolarus, and shuttles regularly taking and returning crews from planetary leave; it was no wonder they needed all four shuttles at the same time.

Hoshi had been a last-second addition to the shuttle ride down to the planet and as such rode in the jumpseat right behind the pilot. Piloting the shuttle was Crewman Alexander Mikhailovich Strunsky. There was at least three Enterprise crewman from the Russian Confederation. Rostov in engineering had been on board since day one. Ensign Kristakova was also Russian, and then there was Alex. Alex was the most talkative of the three, and since that included Rostov, that was really saying something.

"She handles like a dream, like she's fresh off the production line. It's really surprising since she's been wrapped in plastic and hermetically sealed for the last five years."

Hoshi just smiled and nodded. Alex had been yammering away about how great Shuttle Pod Four was since she sat down in the seat beside him. She found that when he got going on something it was best to let him roll on about it, and not interrupt him.

The blue planet loomed larger below them as the shuttle moved closer to the atmosphere. A few seconds later glowing orange fingers reached up around the forward viewport and the shuttle dropped into the atmosphere. A few moments after that those orange fingers were gone, and the once black visage of space had given way to a warm blue sky and light puffy clouds.

"Of course, I'm glad to finally get my own shore leave down on the planet." Alex had apparently changed topic while Hoshi had been distracting herself with the view. "I have done three surface runs in the last three days and transported engineering teams to over fourteen ships in the same time period. We're actually one of the last groups to get a few hours on the surface. Tomorrow we all head back home as fast as possible."

"Well," Hoshi added, "When we get home we'll all have some well-deserved months of shore leave."

She hoped her fears about the potential dangers of their trip home didn't transmit through her voice. The Captain said she was supposed to be a "leader" now. Wouldn't do for her to act like a scared kid, the way she would have five years ago. Even riding in the shuttle was like taking a walk to her now, the transporter though….was still another story.

"Well, of course, it will be nice to get some shore leave back home. Mama and Papa and Yuri and the gang back in Smolensk will, of course, be happy to see me, but Baba will want me to help on the farm. I worked hard to get away from the farm, you know what I mean, Sir?"

Hoshi realized she had violated her own rule and had helped Alex on to another topic by speaking to him.

" _Nod and grin Hoshi, nod and just grin."_

Alex kept on talking as the shuttle kept on dropping towards Sooba'Dar Tal'Gon. Looking down on the city you could see that evening was coming, even though the shuttle was still high enough to be in the full light of day. The lights of the city seemed to twinkle on at random.

Suddenly off to the shuttle's port side the bright white light of this solar systems blue giant sun disappeared and they were engulfed in the Bolian night.

A few moments later and the shuttle came to a gentle rest on the well-lighted landing pad behind the Sooba'Darian Palace. He may talk your ears off, but Alex could fly a shuttle well for sure. Only Travis could have done it better. That was also saying something about Crewman Strunsky.

She waited for the crewmen in the back to get out and then she followed them, Alex at her heels. When she was finally outside she took a deep breath. The air was different from Earth, but also the same in many ways. It was great to smell fresh air no matter what world she was on.

"Well Sir, I'll see you back on the ship," Alex told her, and he was off to join the rest of the crew from the shuttle on their few hours of leave.

Hoshi turned toward the underground entrance to the service areas of the Palace. Right before entering the building she heard a whistle from a pathway to her left. She turned and heard the whistle again. She walked down the side path till she reached another side passage.

"Hoshi" came a whispered voice.

"Malcolm" she said, "is that you?"

Malcolm Reed stepped out from the shadows.

He said, "I wanted to catch you before I left."

She stepped up and embraced him, then kissed him full on the lips. Her tongue did a bit of fighting with his as well. When the lip-lock ended Malcolm said "well…..I missed you too!"

"Do you have to leave now?" she pleaded with him.

"I'm afraid so, ENSIGN. We're done with the Bolian Defense vessels, and if I don't relieve her, Lieutenant Mahajan won't get any leave at all."

"Oh, phooey" she playfully pouted at him. Then she raised her left leg to graze the outside of his. She had her arms draped around his neck and his hands were clasped at the small of her back. "Lunasha doesn't care about shore leave, and that big old bed will be so empty without you. You don't want me to get cold and lonely do you?"

He grinned back at her "now this is cruel, you know I have my orders. If it were up to me you'd be nice and warm, like last night."

They both giggled and then their lips locked again.

They were lost in their own little world together, when suddenly someone behind them interrupted with a throat clearing.

Malcolm tensed instinctively and Hoshi looked over his shoulder.

Sure enough, it was Travis.

"I hate to interrupt Sir, but the shuttle is ready to head back to the ship,…..at your convenience, Sir."

"Um…..of course Ensign" Malcolm replied, "I'll be right there."

"He'll be there in a few," Hoshi said a bit testily toward her friend. He smirked at her and walked past them toward the waiting shuttle.

Malcolm was mortified as usual.

"It's not a big deal" she reassured him "Travis already knew."

Malcolm sighed heavily before replying "I suspected as much…..it's just…..it would be nice if we didn't have to sneak around."

She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him lightly "I'm not sneaking, I just don't think it's anyone's business but ours."

He smiled back at her reassurance.

"I've got to go now," he said sadly

"I know" she replied, then they locked lips in a final long kiss again.

When they separated she held his hand till the distance between them parted her grip. He walked up the path toward the shuttle, only turning at the last second to flash a parting smile. She stayed there and watched the shuttle climb from the pad and accelerate into the sky.

She waited till she couldn't see it any longer, before she headed into the Palace.

" _Well, I guess I'm in deep now."_

* * *

The ride back to Enterprise had been uneventful so far. Travis hadn't said a word to Malcolm about the intimate moment he had witnessed minutes before in the Palace gardens between himself and Hoshi. Instead, Travis commented mostly on how poorly Shuttle Pod Four handled. It seemed Travis thought the shuttle needed to be "broken in" properly before she'd respond the way he liked to his tactile commands.

Malcolm had noticed nothing different in the ride, but he also was not behind the controls.

"Aren't we just going to put them back in the cargo bays before we leave?" Malcolm asked.

Travis pondered that for a moment before responding "no Sir, I think I'll recommend putting Shuttle's One and Two in the cargo bays for the ride home. They have never been properly dismantled for a full overhaul. We've been using both for the last five years, and they've only ever really gotten some routine maintenance in that time, outside of replacing Pod One's engine pack when you and Commander Tucker got stuck. Once we get past the Romulans, they'll be plenty of time for me and a few engineers to take them apart and refurbish them properly."

"Assuming you can get Hess to let you have a few engineers to help" Malcolm added.

Travis said "me and Anna get along pretty well, and Commander Tucker should be back on deck by then anyway. Assuming he feels better, I might have to keep him from trying to take over the project."

He added a brief chuckle to the end of that statement.

It was the type of thing Trip would like to do to kill time on a long trip home.

Malcolm asked, "Once you overhaul them, won't you have to 'break them' back in as well?"

Travis laughed again "of course Sir, that's part of the fun."

Malcolm looked out the large, round forward viewport. You could see one or two of the nearest cargo ships, but you couldn't make out details, just vaguely familiar shapes. Tiny lights flew between them. Repair crew shuttles and larger ships bringing or taking cargo to and from the surface.

"Even with their lives in danger, they still try to pack every corner of their cargo holds" he then remembered Travis was a "Boomer" himself and wished he'd not sounded like he was criticizing Travis's "people".

For his part, Travis didn't seem to take it as an insult. He added "it's the life they live. To an individual cargo ship, the Romulans are no more threatening than Nausican raiders or Orion Syndicate thugs. Just one more danger to live through."

"I suppose" Malcolm replied "but Nausicans and the Syndicate usually don't destroy the cargo ships they raid. The Romulans won't be bothering with cargo or personnel."

He could see Travis swallow hard "Yeah, that does add a bit more to the Romulan threat, Sir."

Malcolm hadn't meant to make Travis more nervous about the voyage home, but he unintentionally had. He realized he was in a black mood himself. He could feel the Bolian pen McCants had given him in his pocket. It didn't weigh anything but somehow it felt like a hot and heavy lava rock to him.

 _"Damn the Section, why do they keep getting me in the middle of their bloody rubbish."_

Having to part with Hoshi for a night was just "icing" on his irritation "cake", or was it pineapple chunks on that "cake"? He was torn simultaneously between his anger and want of nothing to do with the "organization", and his natural curiosity of what it was they wanted him to do.

He decided he should try better to not share his frustrated moods with others though.

"I wouldn't worry too much Travis" he said to his pilot "the Bolian defense ships are fast and will give the Rommies fits if they even bother to show up, and if they do show up they'll regret it."

It sounded like pointless bluster to his own ears but Travis seemed to take some comfort in it.

"They'll not even get near us to cause any trouble anyway, Sir. I'll fly loops around them" Travis added confidently.

"Damn straight you will" Malcolm replied, "There's no better pilot in Starfleet."

That last comment wasn't blustering either. Malcolm and the rest of the crew had come to rely on Travis's almost superhuman abilities to pilot the ship, a shuttle, even a kite through anything.

"Thank you Sir" Travis replied to the praise. Then he added, "we're home."

And so they were. The ventral rear of Enterprise loomed large in the forward viewport. The port rear shuttle bay door stood open with the retrieval arm extended down to receive them.

Malcolm briefly thought to himself that Enterprise was indeed "home" to him now. A well-armed and mobile "home", but "home" none the less. He wondered when that had happened, that he began to think of a ship as his home? It had to have been some time ago; and it surely had not been a sudden revelation, as the notion clearly had crept up on him gradually and unnoticed.

But home it was. It was where his friends and colleagues lived with him, and it was where Hoshi lived; and he realized that wherever the beautiful Miss Sato was, was a place he would always want to be. That revelation was not nearly as subtle as the previous one had been, but it was no less true. A few weeks ago the concept of a real relationship with Hoshi was a distant one. Now it was a reality he would be willing to fight for. Even die for if required, and he'd be damned if he'd let anyone threaten her. Not the Romulans, not the damn Section, nothing and no one.

The jerk of the shuttle coming to a sudden stop as the retrieval arm docked with it brought him back to the here and now.

A few moments later the arm retracted the shuttle into the bay. The large doors below them closed and then the docking bay was pressurized. A light on Travis's panel turned from red to green, indicating a safe environment beyond the shuttle's walls and Travis released the side door lock. A shuttle bay attendant was already beside them, lowering the gangway into the opening the door had made.

Once the crew returning from shore leave had made their way out Malcolm followed. Travis turned around then and asked, "you're here to relieve the lovely Lieutenant Lunasha Mahajan Sir?"

Malcolm replied "yes, she's been in charge since we arrived. If she doesn't go down to the planet now she never will."

"If you don't mind, Sir" Travis added "you can tell her I'd be more than happy to forgo several hours of sleep to personally pilot her down to and back from the planet. If she likes I'd also be more than happy to show her all the good spots on the surface too."

Malcolm was immediately taken off guard by Travis's comments about a superior officer. He was about to scold Travis on the chain of command and fraternization with a superior; when he suddenly realized what a giant hypocrite he would be for doing such a thing. Like any good Tactical Officer, when a particular avenue of advance was cut off, you looked for another route to achieve the goal.

"May I offer you a piece of advice Ensign?"

Travis cut his eyes at Malcolm but nodded in response.

"I have no evidence myself of this" Malcolm started "but I've heard that she prefers women."

Travis just smiled and said "I've heard that too Sir; but having just personally experienced two ladies at the same time, I'm more than happy to make concessions to her needs."

Malcolm stared back in surprise.

"What happened to that innocent young Ensign who came aboard with simple dreams of charting new space routes and seeing new worlds?"

Travis grinned big back at him and replied "What happened, Sir? Their names are Nay'Al and Hal'Nay Sir, they happened to me."

Malcolm shook his head in mock disapproval "you've been corrupted beyond redemption I'm afraid."

Travis just grinned back before turning back to finish shutting down the shuttle pod's systems.

Malcolm made his way up the gangway and onto the platform that ran the length of the shuttle bay. A few turns through the hatchways and he was in the E deck hallway. A few more turns and he was on the turbolift by himself. He pushed the button for C deck. He calculated that it would take no more than ten minutes in the Chemical Research Lab to break down the composition of the ink in McCant's pen; of course, that depended on no one being in the lab. Malcolm simply couldn't come up with a realistic cover story that could justify the Tactical Officer using a Chemistry Lab to examine the contents of a vile of pen ink. It was early evening on Enterprise but there was still a chance there would be technicians working late on a project. If the lab was in use he'd have to make an excuse for sticking his head in. Then he'd need to come back later to do his work. He suspected McCant's info was time-sensitive, so better to get it done now if he could.

He reached the door to the lab. The hallways had been empty, so that was a good sign. There wasn't much of a tactical nature on C deck, but he thought quickly on his feet so he wasn't worried about encountering the random crewman or two. He decided not to hesitate and went right into the lab.

It was good news, as no one was there. He saw the device he needed immediately and moved to it. It was connected to the ship's computer system, but Malcolm knew how to disconnect it and did so. Next, he took out the pen and quickly removed the ink vile. He put the whole vile of ink in the device's reading aperture and activated its scanning cycle. He found the molecular strand he was looking for and magnified the device's resolution. He took his personal PADD out of his leg pocket and attached it to the device to record its results. His own PADD had been specifically modified by himself to deploy a subroutine to any device it attached to that erased anything he had recorded from that device. It also removed any electronic evidence that the device had ever been used.

A few seconds later his PADD indicated that the info had been properly downloaded. Malcolm punched a few commands on the PADD and just seconds later it indicated that it had removed all the evidence from the scanner. He took the PADD off the connection and reattached the device to the computer network. He then quickly reassembled the pen and dropped it in his pocket. PADD back in his other pocket, he disposed of the ink and walked nonchalantly out of the lab. As yet not a soul had seen him. He estimated that the whole affair had taken six minutes, quite efficient.

Another secret subroutine on his PADD was busy translating the microscopic strands of seeming random ink molecules into words. It would take several minutes before it was done. That was more than enough time for him to make it to the Bridge and relieve Lieutenant Mahajan.

A short turbolift ride to A deck and he stepped out on to the Bridge.

Lieutenant Mahajan was at the Science Station. Like himself, she preferred to command the ship from her normal duty station, usually. She smiled lazily at him. She seemed a bit tired, a feeling he could easily sympathize with.

"Are you here to rescue me?" she asked him.

He smiled back "the surface and relaxation await you down on Bolarus IX."

"Not for another two hours" she replied sadly "and I might have to pass out before then."

"Ha" Malcolm laughed "I know a certain pilot that would be more than happy to take you down to the surface right now. He'd even be more than happy to show you the sites."

Lunasha sarcastically smirked back at him "In Travis's dreams."

Malcolm couldn't help but laugh.

"Well," he added "go get a meal and a bit of a nap. I'll make sure to alert you before the next shuttle leaves."

She yawned then replied "good idea, the ship is all yours."

She went to the turbolift and was off. The reserve Bridge science crewman moved to replace the Lieutenant at the Science Station. Ensign Kristakova was at the Tactical Station, and when Malcolm looked toward her she moved to vacate her seat for him. He held up his hand to stop her, then took the Captain's chair.

Once settled, he turned to Kristakova and said "report".

"All systems functioning normally, Sir" she replied "There have been no unusual sensor readings. All tactical systems stand ready, Sir."

"Excellent" he replied. Nikita Kristakova was exactly the type of tactical officer Malcolm liked to have under his command. Succinct, competent, conscientious, and with just the right amount of ambition; he had no doubt she'd make Chief Tactical Officer of a starship herself one day soon.

She was also the exact same type of officer the Section would love as well. That thought was unpleasant, to say the least. She'd been on Enterprise for the better part of two years, coming on board originally right after the Xindi attack. He'd found nothing to criticize her over since, and until that moment that hadn't bothered him in the least.

If she were an agent of the "organization" she was a very good one. The Section had trained him to spot the "well trained", like McCants, and she had never set off any of his "alarms".

 _"I'm being paranoid, there was no reason for the Section to put a 'watcher' on me back then. I was still technically on the 'farm' then, after all."_

At least he hoped he was being paranoid. The Section did things for their own reasons and just because he'd been a model agent until that point didn't mean they didn't feel a need to "verify" his proficiency.

At that very moment, his PADD vibrated slightly to indicate it had completed compiling the secret message. He pulled the PADD from his pocket and put in his personal activation code to open the file. As he read the secret message from McCants he hoped his face didn't show his concern. Once he'd finished reading there was only one thought on his mind.

 _"Bloody well damn him and the Section both."_


End file.
